Where will all of Bachmann’s cash go?
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Now that she's decided to leave Congress, 6th Congressional District Rep. Michele Bachmann will have to figure out what to do with all the money she has in her campaign coffers.
Bachmann, who has a national network of small dollar donors, has rarely had trouble raising money for her congressional campaigns. During her 2010 re-election bid, she raised more than $13.5 million, more than any other incumbent member of Congress in the country.
At the end of the first quarter of this year, Bachmann had nearly $1.86 million in cash on hand.
Campaign Legal Center senior counsel Paul Ryan said Bachmann is at liberty to spend the cash any number of ways, so long as the spending doesn't benefit her personally.
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- She could transfer the money to a party committee.
- She could contribute the money to other candidates and office holders.
- She could, in theory, put the money into her own leadership political action committee.
- If Bachmann became a lobbyist, she could redesignate her campaign committee as a political action committee, and use the money to contribute to other lawmakers.
- She could turn the committee into a super PAC and spend on behalf of other candidates.
- She could use the money to pay legal bills associated with a federal investigation into her presidential campaign.
- She could also donate the money to a charitable organization.
