What happens to donated campaign money of candidates as candidates drop out of the race for presidency?

Do candidates get to keep any of the money or other forms of gifts?





Can any of the money go toward the federal deficit or at least to offset benefits and salaries of our national leaders?What happens to donated campaign money of candidates as candidates drop out of the race for presidency?
The Federal Election Commission has strict regulations as to what can be done with unused campaign donations.





According to the Federal Election Commission, there is a law called the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act. That law takes $3 from every willing income tax filer and puts it in a big fund. Candidates who meet minimum requirements, then receive matching funds.





The FEC stipulates that any candidate is allowed to retain his or her money for a future election once they decide to call it quits in any given election.





FEC stipulates that a presidential candidate can donate his money to a non-profit organization of his choosing so long as it has 501 (c) tax status. That includes special interest groups. That candidate may donate to organizations ranging from the National Rifle Association to MoveOn.org.





The FEC also states a presidential candidate can donate his funds to another campaign committee. So if you donated to an underdog candidate or pay federal income tax, there is a pretty healthy chance that you have bankrolled one of the top tier candidates, again whether you support that candidate or not.What happens to donated campaign money of candidates as candidates drop out of the race for presidency?
Nope they spend it on lavish gifts for their backers, lobbiest, and promoters.
At the federal election level, I'm not sure. I assume they have to either relinquish the money to their party's general fund or make a documented donation to a charity.





But, from what I've heard at the city level, the candidates running for an at-large office, for instance, keep the money they raise, since a position in city council is not under the auspices of any given party.





This is what a losing candidate from the recent Lansing City Council run told me. Of course, it would seem more scrupulous to return the donations, but since a candidate most likely used a lot of it for running newspaper ads, organizing an campaign office and traveling, there might not be much left over to return all donor's contributions in full.