What Does A Political Campaidn Do With Leftover Money?
Andrew Yang and Michael Bennet have concluded their campaigns for president.
What happens to the coin they have raised, but not yet spent?
The amounts could be substantial. Financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission indicate that as of Dec. 31, 2019, candidates who had already dropped out still had plenty in the banking company. Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke dropped out Nov. 1, simply at year'southward end all the same had U.s.$360,000 in the bank. Sen. Kamala Harris, who dropped out December. 3, reported having $1.3 million available.
Other candidates who dropped out in January had big sums on paw non long before they concluded their campaigns: Julian Castro had $950,000 on December. 31, and dropped out two days later. Less than two weeks earlier they exited, Marianne Williamson had $330,000 and Sen. Cory Booker had $iv.2 million.
I teach and write about campaign finance law. There is one clear rule nigh that money: Candidates can't use information technology for personal expenses, similar mortgage payments, groceries, article of clothing purchases or vacations. But there are a lot of other options, both within politics and outside of it.
Paying what'due south owed
The start utilise for coin from a candidate who has merely quit the entrada is more often than not to pay the toll of winding things up. Just considering someone announces they're out, their expenses don't cease correct abroad. They may yet owe rent on office space, also as fees for services like polling and transportation and for staff salaries.
Some campaigns max out their credit cards, or have out loans to fill their accounts, and those however need to be repaid.
Candidates whose campaigns accept concluded but who are withal treatment outstanding expenses need to go on filing entrada finance reports with the FEC. In one case those expenses are paid, there may not be much left.
At times, candidates need to go on fundraising after they drop out, just to pay off the bills they ran upwardly while running. Half dozen months after they dropped out of the 2012 presidential nomination race, failed Republican candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were still working to pay off their campaign debts. Sometime presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani, Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards took years to pay off their entrada debts.
Saving for the time to come
If there'southward annihilation left over after all the bills are paid, the candidate has a few options.
For some politicians, the most likely use is to aid pay for their next campaign. Booker, for example, is up for reelection to his Senate seat. In one case his presidential campaign has paid off any debts information technology may owe, he tin transfer the remaining money to his senatorial reelection campaign fund.
If he, or any other candidate, wants to run for president again in the future, it's easy plenty to transfer the funds to a committee for the 2024 campaign season.
A former candidate tin can too use any excess funds to create a so-called "leadership PAC," which is a political commission that can be controlled by the onetime candidate but is non used to support that person'south campaigns. Instead, it backs a political calendar – including other candidates – the candidate supports. Leadership PACs have been criticized for functioning as "slush funds" for politicians to spend on travel and entertainment they can't buy with regular campaign donations.
Sharing the wealth
Instead of using the money for the candidate'southward ain political purposes, people who drib out tin donate their money to other campaigns or candidates. In that location are no limits on how much they can give to a national, country or local party commission – such every bit the Autonomous National Commission.
They tin can too give money to state and local candidates, depending on land entrada finance laws, or upwards to $2,000 to each of ane or more candidates for federal office.
A former candidate can also donate surplus funds to clemency. This seems most likely to occur when a candidate is retiring from public life. For instance, former Sen. Joseph Lieberman transferred funds from his Senate campaign fund and his leadership PAC to a college scholarship fund for high schoolhouse students from his country, Connecticut. He used other leftover entrada money to organize his political and campaign papers to donate to the Library of Congress.
A one-time candidate with excess funds has two more possibilities. She can do null at all and just keep the greenbacks in the bank. In 2014, an analysis establish ex-candidates, Republicans and Democrats alike, had equally much every bit $100 meg in unused campaign funds just waiting for business relationship holders to decide what to do.
If the person really doesn't want all that cash on hand, the law is vague on what'south side by side – it can be used "for any other lawful purpose," besides personal use. For example, erstwhile Democratic Congressman Marty Meehan of Massachusetts helped fund a document archive for his sometime colleague, Barney Frank.
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Source: https://theconversation.com/when-presidential-campaigns-end-what-happens-to-the-leftover-money-130042
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