Cain announced he would suspend his campaign Saturday afternoon. | REUTERS Cain's campaign account will live on

Herman Cain may be “suspending” his presidential campaign instead of ending it altogether.

But as far as the Federal Election Commission is concerned, the distinction is effectively meaningless.


Cain may continue to raise money through his presidential committee regardless of his stated status. And he’ll still need to report campaign account income to the FEC, as well as expenditures and debt, so long as his account remains open.

As of Saturday, it is. And it’s likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

In order to formally terminate his presidential committee, Cain must first take several steps, including retiring $675,000 in debt he reported in his most recent federal campaign account disclosure — Sept. 30 — and receiving FEC approval.

Through the end of September, Cain had $1,333,778 cash on hand — a number that has likely waxed and waned in the more than two eventful months since as his political fortunes shot skyward, then crashed Saturday upon his announcement of a de facto exit from the Republican presidential nomination contest. Candidates aren’t required to file their year-end finance reports until Jan. 31.

The FEC may itself terminate a political committee but typically does so only when a committee falls below minimum reporting thresholds and falls idle for numerous reporting cycles, commission spokeswoman Julia Queen said in a recent interview. Legally, a federal political committee cannot shut down if it still owes money to creditors, she noted.

Indeed, as POLITICO reported in October, the long-idle campaign committees of numerous presidential candidates — ranging from Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton to Rudy Giuliani and Alan Keyes — remain technically open and active. Unpaid debts, which in some cases have lingered for more than a decade, are often the cause.

In Hillary Clinton’s case, she also said she would “suspend” her presidential campaign during a June 2008 speech. Almost 3 ½ years later, the Hillary Clinton for President campaign committee remains open, reporting $274,010 in debt through September.

Unlikely as it may be, Cain at anytime could change his mind and say he’s un-suspending his campaign, again using his presidential campaign committee as if his announcement had never occurred.

There’s precedent: In 1992, independent presidential candidate Ross Perot “suspended” his campaign in July, only to reignite it about 2 ½ months later. Perot kept active his campaign committee during the interim.