President Biden insists he will not back down in the face of growing pressure from his party to withdraw from the 2024 race after his halting debate performance raised questions about his ability to defeat Republican Donald Trump and serve for the next four years.
Regardless of this decision, your war chest will certainly be the main focus of the campaign.
Top Democratic Donors just announced a new effort this week, Next Generation PAC, which aims to raise $100 million in support of Biden’s replacement candidate. Or, if Biden retains the Democratic nomination – as he has repeatedly said he will – donors will spend their money on down-ballot races.
If Biden were to change his mind, there are also significant questions about where his campaign’s millions of dollars would go. If Vice President Kamala Harris is the new nominee, will she have access to these funds? If one of the other supposed Democratic options is chosen, will they be able to use that money?
Here’s a summary.
How much did the Biden campaign raise?
Biden’s team announced it raised $127 million in June, bringing its cash on hand to $240 million across various committees. He said $33 million was raised during the debate and afterward. A year ago, the campaign said it planned raise and spend US$2 billion throughout the election. These numbers include not only the Biden campaign, but also the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees.
Biden’s own campaign ended May with more than $90 million in cash on hand, according to its most recent report. campaign finance statement.
There are two types of campaign funds
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) categorizes campaign funds in two categories as part of his presidential public financing program.
There is money raised during the primaries and then in general election fundraising. Both are funneled into the total pool of campaign funds.
But if Biden reversed course and withdrew, Democratic delegates would then be tasked with selecting a new candidate. If there were entirely new Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates selected for voting in August, primary funds and general election funds would be treated differently.
What happens if Kamala Harris is in the crossing?
Harris is already being considered the favorite for the nomination if Biden withdraws. If she could win party approval, she could access and control both the primary money and the general election funds that the Biden campaign raised, according to Kenneth Gross, senior political law counsel and consultant at Akin Gump.
She has been part of Biden’s campaign since the beginning; her name is already listed in FEC records. But Harris will only be able to clearly access these funds if she is the presidential candidate.
“It will be her campaign money if she wants to claim it,” Gross said.
What will happen if Harris is another candidate’s vice president?
Harris ran against Biden in 2020 and is expected to seek the presidency again in the future. Consequently, it is difficult for many political observers to imagine her stepping aside readily to serve another Democratic candidate as vice president. But if that happens, Gross said it “poses a difficult issue” for Biden’s campaign funds since “that presidential candidate hasn’t raised that money.”
Ultimately, the FEC would make the final decision. But the pair wouldn’t necessarily have to wait for FEC approval before spending that money.
“She could say, ‘Look, I think this is my money, I’m entitled to it.’ And go ahead and make her and whoever the presidential candidate is spend the money,” Gross said.
What if it’s a completely new ticket, without Biden or Harris?
If Democrats opt for new faces as their party’s candidates, they will have to raise their own money.
Biden’s major campaign donations would become surplus funds that could be donated to the Democratic National Committee, which could spend them on national organizing efforts. Gross said general election money would be returned to donors, although other experts are unsure whether that is mandatory. The Hill reported.
Another option would be for Biden’s excess campaign funds to go to a super PAC, a committee that can raise and donate unlimited amounts of money to finance political spending. The super-PAC would not be allowed to coordinate directly with Democratic candidates, including whoever the new candidate is.
“The way the money could be used most effectively to influence the outcome of the presidential election is to convert it into an entity that has no limits, like a super-PAC,” Gross said.
