President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he is stepping down from the 2024 presidential race and approval His preferred vice president for the Democratic nomination is Kamala Harris. A practical question follows: What will happen to his campaign funds?
The Biden campaign said it was $240 million in cash on hand Earlier this month, compared to former President Donald Trump $331 million. Campaign finance rules put some limits on what Biden can do with that money now that he’s no longer running for president.
Money is not just volatile, however. While it’s still not entirely certain whether Harris will be the nominee — he would need Biden’s delegates at the Democratic National Convention to accept the nomination, though his endorsement certainly puts him ahead of any potential competition — he could access Biden’s funding more easily than others. democrat And the campaign pot only seems to be growing: major Democratic donors, of which there were some Break their contributions Concerns about Biden’s candidacy following his disastrous debate performance last month reportedly reopened their wallets after Biden’s announcement on Sunday.
Biden and Harris already share funds in a campaign committee under campaign finance laws that allow the president and vice president to run together as one ticket, said Sourav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at the Campaign Legal Center. Had he remained on the ticket as the presidential nominee, “the new ticket would retain access to all campaign committee funds,” Ghosh added.
That would make Harris’ transition to the top of the ticket seamless — at least when it comes to money.
What will happen to Biden’s campaign funds if Harris is not nominated?
While Harris currently appears to have a decent chance of becoming the Democrats’ choice for president, not everyone is on board. Some lawmakers have supported some form of open process to select the new Democratic nominee, including Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi And Former President Barack Obama.
It will be difficult for another Democrat to challenge Harris, as he now has the support of Biden and the support of millions of Americans who have already voted for the Biden-Harris ticket. So even if there is an open process at or before the Democratic convention, Harris will have a good shot at winning the nomination.
But if he doesn’t and shuts down the ticket entirely, he and Biden won’t be able to shift their millions to other Democrats. Campaign finance laws limit transfers from one candidate to another at just $2,000 per election. There are a few possible solutions, but they are unlikely to allow the new candidate to take full advantage of Biden’s campaign finances.
For one, Biden “could offer to refund donors who could then contribute to the new candidate’s campaign,” Ghosh said. But it’s an unreliable method: Refunding donors is no guarantee that they’ll contribute to the Democratic ticket again, and relies on them to do the legwork.
Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 race. Take this story.
President Joe Biden bowed to pressure from top Democrats and campaign donors who urged him to step down amid concerns about his age and low polling numbers against Donald Trump.
- What is happening now?
- Did other Democrats actually vote better against Trump than Biden?
- How did the Democrats get here?
- What can we learn from those who quit?
Alternatively, Biden could transfer all of his funds to the Democratic National Committee. as much as possible Of this, $32.3 million Spending can be coordinated with the nominee, and the DNC can unilaterally spend the rest of the money to support the new nominee, Ghosh said. Besides that almost $65 million in cash The DNC was on hand in late May. But that approach has a flaw: The DNC may not target its investments according to campaign preferences.
Biden potentially can too transfer of his funds to an independent super PAC if Harris is not on the ticket. But super PACs can’t coordinate with campaigns, and they usually do Charge more to take out ads rather than propaganda. That means the money won’t go that far.
This campaign is the best option. Now, campaign finance rules may not be the only determining factor in who ultimately succeeds Biden. But those rules make Harris the most practical choice (at least from a campaign finance perspective) with months to go before the November election.
Does the PAC money automatically go to Harris? What about other funding streams?
In addition to his campaign funds, Biden also has Several joint fundraisers rely on committeesMainly groups that fundraise across allied political organizations, including the Biden Victory Fund, which has approx $40 million on hand As of the end of June.
These committees have signed contracts with Biden’s campaign fund that dictate how the funds they raise together at joint fundraisers will be allocated. As long as they all agree, those contracts can be changed to support the new nominee.
There are also several Major Super PACs Currently supporting Biden, co Future forward, which had about $92 million in cash on hand at the end of May. But because super PACs are independent from campaigns, they can change how they allocate their funds at any time.
