WASHINGTON - HILLARY Clinton, racing to clear up campaign debts before she is due to take over as US secretary of state, has cancelled 13.2 million dollars (S$19.11 million) in loans she extended to her unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to filings on Monday.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings for November showed that Clinton, who lost the nominating battle to president-elect Barack Obama, still owed nearly 6.4 million dollars in campaign debts at the end of November.

Most of that - 5.4 million - was owed to the consulting firm of the New York senator's former chief strategist, Mr Mark Penn.

Mrs Clinton has been working to pare down her campaign debts before she becomes secretary of state in the Obama cabinet - pending Senate confirmation.

Once she is a federal employee, her ability to raise political funds to write down campaign obligations will become greatly limited.

Mr Obama has urged his supporters to contribute donations to her debt drive.

The FEC filings showed that she wrote off $13.18 million that she had lent from her personal family coffers to keep her campaign alive through to June, when she bowed out of the nominating race.

At the end of November, Mrs Clinton had just under $188,500 in cash on hand.

Mr Obama, who smashed fundraising records, meanwhile still had nearly $30 million in ready cash after the November 4 election. He can keep the money for a re-election campaign, or spend it on other candidates. -- AFP