General contributions after a primary loss

Candidates may only accept contributions for elections in which they participate. Thus, a candidate who loses in the primary (or otherwise does not participate in the general election) does not have a separate contribution limit for the general.

If your campaign committee accepted contributions designated for the general election before the primary, and the candidate will not participate in the general election, then the committee must refund, redesignate or reattribute the general election contributions within 60 days of the primary (or the date that the candidate publicly withdraws from the primary race).

For examples of how to report refunded or redesignated contributions, please visit our reporting examples webpage.