President Biden continues to insist he will not bow to mounting pressure from his party to withdraw from the 2024 race, after his faltering performance in the debates raised questions about his ability to defeat Republican Donald Trump and hold office for the next four years.
Regardless of that decision, his campaign money will undoubtedly be a major focus.
Major Democratic donors this week announced a new effort, Next Generation PAC, aimed at raising $100 million to support Biden’s replacement nominee. Or, if Biden retains the Democratic nomination — as he has repeatedly said he will — donors would spend their money on lower ballot boxes.
If Biden were to change his mind, there are also big questions about where his millions of dollars from the campaign would go. If Vice President Kamala Harris is the new nominee, would she have access to those funds? If one of the other rumored Democratic options is elected, would they be able to use that money?
Here’s an overview.
How much did the Biden campaign raise?
The Biden team announced that it had raised $127 million in June, bringing its cash on hand to $240 million from multiple committees. It said it had raised $33 million during the debate and its aftermath. A year ago, the campaign said it planned to raise and spend $2 billion during the election. Those figures include not only the Biden campaign, but also the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees.
According to the campaign’s most recent financial reporting, the Biden campaign had more than $90 million in cash at the end of May.
There are two types of campaign funds
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) divides campaign funds into two categories within its presidential government financing program.
Fundraising takes place during the primaries and then through general election fundraising, both of which are deposited into the overall campaign fund pool.
But if Biden were to reverse course and withdraw, Democratic delegates would be tasked with selecting a new nominee. Should entirely new Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates be selected for the August ballot, primary and general election funds would be treated differently.
What happens if Kamala Harris is on the list?
Harris is already being mentioned as a frontrunner for the nomination if Biden withdraws. If she were to win the party’s endorsement, she could gain access to and control over both primary and general election money raised by the Biden campaign, said Kenneth Gross, a senior political legal adviser and consultant at Akin Gump.
She’s been part of the Biden campaign since its inception; her name is already listed on FEC filings. But Harris can only clearly access these funds if she’s the presidential nominee.
“If she wants to claim it, it becomes her campaign money,” Gross said.
What happens if Harris becomes vice president to another nominee?
Harris ran against Biden in 2020 and is widely expected to seek the presidency again in the future. As a result, it’s hard for many political observers to imagine her simply stepping aside to serve another Democratic candidate as vice president. But if that were to happen, Gross said it would pose “a tricky 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 couple wouldn’t necessarily have to wait for FEC approval before spending that money.
“She could say, ‘Look, I think this is my money, I deserve it.’ And then she could spend it, along with the presidential candidate,” Gross said.
What if it’s a whole new ticket, without Biden or Harris?
If the Democrats choose new faces as their party’s candidates, they will have to raise money themselves.
Biden’s primary 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 the general election money would be returned to donors, though other experts aren’t entirely sure whether that’s 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 fund political spending. The super PAC would not be allowed to work directly with Democratic candidates, including whoever the new nominee is.
“The way the money can be used most effectively to influence the outcome of the presidential election is to channel it into an entity that knows no boundaries, like a super PAC,” Gross said.
