CNN
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The Biden-Harris campaign formally amended its filings with the Federal Election Commission on Sunday to change the names of its main committees and declare Kamala Harris its presidential nominee.
The move means that if Harris remains a candidate in the general election, she could potentially take over control of the Biden-Harris campaign account, which had nearly $96 million on hand as of the end of June, according to the Campaign Legal Center.
“Specifically, because Biden and Harris share a campaign committee, if Harris becomes the Democratic presidential nominee or vice presidential nominee, the VP and Harris would be able to continue to use their existing campaign funds for the general election,” Trevor Potter, founder and president of the Campaign Legal Center, said in a statement.
Just hours after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, the committee filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, which noted that “the committee name differs from that previously reported” and redesignated the committee as “Harris Candidate for President.”
The committee also submitted a letter to the committee stating, “Vice President Harris is currently a candidate for President of the United States in the 2024 election and will henceforth campaign solely for that office.”
One of the reasons many political observers felt Harris would effectively be Biden’s replacement was because her name was already registered to a campaign account, allowing her to change FEC filings.
Both Hans von Spakovsky, a longtime conservative election law expert at the Heritage Foundation, and Dara Lindenbaum of the Federal Election Commission have said publicly that Harris has access to the money Biden raises through his primary campaign committee because the money is registered to both the president and vice president.
“If Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic nominee, she will have access to Joe Biden’s campaign finances,” Lindenbaum, a Democrat who is seen as the swing vote on the often-deadlocked committee, wrote on X.
Von Spakovsky wrote in a Fox News interview that any other Democratic presidential candidate running in the general election would not have easy access to the money, adding that while there is no obligation to return the donations, campaigns could choose to do so at any time.
But in these unprecedented times, with Biden no longer the leading candidate, there’s no guarantee questions won’t arise about money raised to fund the general election.
For example, current FEC Chairman Sean Cooksey, a Republican appointee, wrote in an X post that campaign finance regulations state: The donations may need to be returned or refunded to donors, but they did not elaborate or address the issue of Harris already being listed in the campaign’s account.
“This is going to be a difficult challenge,” Craig Engle, a former Federal Election Commission lawyer who represents Republican candidates and Democratic groups in the 2024 election, said Sunday. “Campaigns can’t withhold money for elections in which their candidates aren’t running.” Engle said there’s a “gray area” about whether Biden can return money to general election donors and urge Harris to return it immediately.
Engle added that the Biden campaign may need to seek guidance in the form of an advisory opinion from the Federal Election Commission in the coming weeks.
Another option would be for Biden to transfer his campaign account balance to the Democratic National Committee or a super PAC, which could allow Harris to open a new campaign account and revisit and re-engage donors who have already reached their contribution limits for the Biden-Harris campaign, one election lawyer said.
Derek Mueller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame, said campaigns often spend money well in advance before the FEC or courts decide what is permissible, with a final answer delayed until after Election Day.
“I think this will be litigated,” Mueller told CNN. “Because Harris’ name is already on the dossier, I think the general consensus is that she will accept it in the general election.” [But] That is not a universal view.”
The FEC did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
CNN’s Fredreka Schouten and Matt Holt contributed to this report.
