If nominee isn’t Harris, contributions have to be refunded: Federal Election Commission

Vice President Kamala Harris , the second half of the now broken Biden-Harris 2024 ticket, must become the presidential nominee, or the millions of dollars their campaign has raised for the general election will have to be refunded, according to federal election rules.

Nearly $100 million is at stake, the amount the Biden-Harris campaign has in the bank.

The funding rules are likely to bolster efforts to unite the Democratic Party around Harris and give her a warchest to run against former President Donald Trump with. Any new nominee would have to start fundraising from scratch.

The party’s focus on campaign funding became a key focus today after President Joe Biden caved into party pressure and pulled out of his reelection. He then endorsed Harris for the nomination, which will face a Democratic Party convention vote in mid-August.

Since the two ran together as a ticket, only she would have access to the Biden-Harris funds if she takes the top spot, said a Federal Election Commission member.

Commissioner and election lawyer Trey Trainor told Secrets, “If Biden drops out and Harris isn’t the nominee, then there will have to be massive refunds of contributions to donors to the Biden campaign.”

He explained that like most campaigns, Biden took in big campaign donations and designated some of each to the primaries for the Biden-Harris ticket and some for the general election.

“Most presidential campaigns collect a contribution from donors in double the amount of the federal limit and allocate half to the primary election and half to the general election . Biden did that, and it was legal even though he really had no primary opposition. That means he and Harris have a large chunk of money that is only available to be spent in the general election,” Trainor said.

“However, if Harris doesn’t become the nominee, that means she never entered the general election, and those dollars are legally required to be refunded. The money cannot be transferred to the DNC or anywhere else — it must be refunded,” he said.

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Here is the key Federal Election Commission guideline:

“A candidate is entitled to an election limit only if he or she seeks office in that election. Thus, a candidate who loses the primary (or otherwise does not participate in the general election) does not have a separate limit for the general. If a candidate accepts contributions for the general election before the primary is held and loses the primary (or does not otherwise participate in the general election), the candidate’s principal campaign committee must refund, redesignate or reattribute the general election contributions within 60 days of the primary or the date that the candidate publicly withdraws from the primary race.”

Harris is already winning key endorsements as she scrambles to appear like the nominee. In addition to Biden, the Clintons have also endorsed Harris. However, former President Barack Obama has not endorsed the first black and female vice president for president.