President Joe Biden speaks to community leaders at the Vote to Live Action Fund’s 2024 Prosperity Summit, July 16, 2024, in Las Vegas.
Both the Republican and Democratic sides of the 2024 presidential race have hundreds of millions of dollars at their disposal in the race for the White House, but now that President Joe Biden has stepped down from his reelection campaign, the money picture may soon change altogether.
What does it mean for his campaign money now that Biden left the race? And how much money does he even have in the first place?
What Happens to Biden’s Campaign Money Now That He’s Dropped Out?
It depends on who the new Democratic nominee is, says Saurav Ghosh, the director of federal campaign finance reform at the Campaign Legal Center.
The simplest option from a campaign finance standpoint would be to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris, because “if Harris remains on the ticket, as either the presidential or vice-presidential candidate, the new ticket would maintain access to all the funds in the campaign committee,” says Ghosh.
This is “[b] because Biden and Vice President Harris share a campaign committee,” Ghosh says. Harris now appears on the statement of candidacy and statement of organization for the committee, which has been refiled with the Federal Election Commission as Harris For President.
However, if a new Democratic ticket did not include Biden or Harris, then things would become “more complicated,” Ghosh said.
Since $2,000 is the limit to transfer money between federal campaign committees per election cycle, Ghosh said, the Biden campaign couldn’t legally contribute all of its campaign money to a new candidate.
Instead, “Biden’s campaign would have to offer to refund the money to donors, who could then contribute to the new candidate’s campaign,” or “transfer an unlimited amount to the DNC, which could then spend the money supporting the new presidential nominee, and up to $32.3 million of that spending could be coordinated with the new nominee,” said Ghosh.
How Much Money Has Biden Raised?
On July 2, 2024, the Biden campaign announced that it had $240 million cash on hand, according to CBS News.
Additionally, prominent political action committees supporting Biden have raised millions of dollars of their own. Future Forward, the major hybrid super PAC supporting Biden, had $92.3 million cash on hand, as of May 31, 2024, while American Bridge 21st Century, another such group, raised more than $33 million, according to OpenSecrets.org, a campaign finance nonprofit.
Does Kamala Harris Have Her Campaign Funds?
Vice President Harris shared the Democratic ticket with President Biden, so she did not originally have her separate campaign funds for the 2024 general election. However, she will be able to take over the $95.9 million Biden has on hand now that he has left the race.
Harris also does not have any money left over from her unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign or her successful 2016 Senate campaign.
What Have Other Democrats Raised?
Besides Harris, a few other names have been circulated as potential replacement candidates for Biden on the Democratic ticket this fall. And while none of them have presidential campaign committees, they have been prolific fundraisers in other races.
One of these is California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who raised over $50.2 million in his 2018 campaign for governor, and over $25.1 million in his 2022 reelection bid, according to OpenSecrets.
Another potential candidate is Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whose 2022 reelection bid raised $37.5 million, nearly triple the amount of her 2018 campaign for governor at $13.3 million.
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