Amidst growing calls for President Joe Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee, campaign finance experts are pointing to a significant financial hurdle that could prevent a smooth transition. While the Biden-Harris campaign has amassed a substantial war chest, reporting a staggering $127 million raised in June alone, questions arise about whether any other candidate could inherit these funds if Biden were to be replaced or withdraw.
Experts believe that the funds are largely inaccessible to anyone other than Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. While Vice President Harris could potentially access the funds due to her position on the Biden-Harris ticket, even she might face significant challenges. According to Trey Trainor, a commissioner at the Federal Election Committee (FEC), the transferability of funds to Harris remains an “open-ended question.”
In the event of a Biden replacement, legal experts explain that the Biden-Harris campaign could transfer funds to the Democratic National Committee (DNC). However, the DNC faces limitations in distributing these funds. The financial roadblocks have led Trainor to conclude that Democrats “have no choice but to continue forward with President Biden as their nominee.”
While several individuals have been floated as potential replacements, including Governors Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, campaign finance experts believe that securing the campaign funds would be an insurmountable obstacle.
Despite internal pressure within the Democratic Party for Biden to step down, campaign finance experts, describing the situation as unprecedented, believe that financial realities will likely keep Biden as the Democratic nominee.
