Vice President Kamala Harris is one of the presidents Joe BidenShe has been one of the party’s most ardent defenders after its shaky performance in last week’s debate, but she has also emerged as a potential option to lead the party herself if Biden decides not to continue his campaign.
The big question is what will happen to the current campaign’s $91 million in cash, according to the most recent filings. (Combined with Democratic affiliates, the reelection campaign has access to $240 million in cash, the campaign reported this week.)
Can Harris Take Over Biden-Harris Campaign Money?
Yes, but there are a few caveats.
According to Kenneth Gross, senior political lawyer at Akin Gump and former deputy general counsel for the Federal Election Commission, Harris could use the funds for her own presidential campaign if Biden were to withdraw because their campaign accounts with the Federal Election Commission were registered in both candidates’ names.
Can donors get their money back?
Only if the campaign says yes.
Legal scholars agree that if donors request their money back after a candidate switch, the campaign must agree to the transfer. That means donors are not automatically entitled to reimbursement.
“Once a donor makes a contribution, he or she gives up the rights to those funds,” Gross said.
Disgruntled donors who consider filing a lawsuit are unlikely to succeed, according to Bradley A. Smith, a professor at Capital University Law School in Ohio.
“When you give money to a campaign committee, it’s pretty much a given for them to do with it whatever they want, within the bounds of the law,” he said.
What happens to the funds if neither Biden nor Harris is the nominee?
According to Gross, their campaign should give back all the money, at least a little.
Any donations earmarked for the primaries — which Biden won — would stay within the campaign, Gross said, something that could technically apply to all money received by Biden-Harris up until the Democratic National Convention in August.
“All contributions made prior to the August convention will be considered for the primary election unless the donor specifies in writing that the contribution is for the general election,” Gross said.
According to Smith, if Biden drops out of the race and Harris does not replace him as the nominee, the former campaign team would only be able to transfer $2,000 of the money raised to a new candidate.
Can the campaign account be converted to a PAC?
Maybe, but it might not be worth it.
According to Gross, if Biden and Harris both drop out of the race or fail to become their party’s nominee, they could choose to divert campaign funds to a super PAC or to the party itself.
But if those transfers were to happen, Smith said, “the vast majority of them would have to be in independent expenditures, which tend to be less effective.” Moreover, he added, guaranteed rates for radio and TV advertising are higher for parties than for candidates, “so that comes at a cost as well.”
If Harris stays in the race, she can do the same with the money, or keep it for her own efforts.
And if the account were to be converted into a political action committee in general, that new entity would have restrictions on what it could send to the new candidate, said Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform for the Campaign Legal Center.
“Even if Biden’s campaign committee were to immediately convert to a political action committee, which is allowed, that PAC would only be able to transfer up to $3,300 per election to the new presidential candidate’s campaign,” Ghosh said. “There is no legal way for Biden to transfer the $90 million his campaign currently has at its disposal to a new candidate.”
What else could happen with the money?
Beyond the presidential election options, Smith suggested the Biden-Harris funds could be transferred to Democratic committees supporting House and Senate candidates, or even pushed back in the election timeline to “support Democrats in future years.”
Other options, he suggested, could be a group formed to promote causes and issues that align with the candidates’ positions — “or they could donate the money to a charity, including, for example, the really wonderful Joe Biden Center at the University of Delaware.”
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Meg Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina. She can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
