Q: What will happen to all the excess money that Jon Ossoff and Karen Handel raised for their campaign? Will they get to keep this or will they have to return it to the people that contributed to their campaign?
–Ken Ross, McDonough
A: Candidates for federal office – including Ossoff and Handel – are required to file financial disclosures throughout the campaign, listing contributions and spending with the Federal Election Commission. When the election is over, candidates must file a final report with the FEC.
The AJC reported July 19 that Jon Ossoff’s final campaign filing hasn’t yet been posted, so the value of his leftover contributions is unknown. Karen Handel showed she has about $430,000 left in her campaign coffers.
After an election, the campaign must first retire any campaign debts. In fact, the FEC allows campaign committees to accept contributions even after the election is over as long as the campaign has “net debts outstanding.”
Once that is done, the FEC’s Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates states surplus funds could be refunded to donors or used in a number of other ways, including contributions to state and local candidates and charitable donations. Candidates who intend to seek re-election, or who choose to seek a different office, often transfer their leftover contributions into a new campaign account.
“Campaign funds of candidates who are no longer seeking federal office are subject to the same expenditure rules as funds of a candidate who is still seeking federal office,” according to the FEC’s website. Generally speaking, that means the funds can’t be used for personal use.
Fast Copy News Service wrote this column; Keith Still contributed. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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