What happens to a candidate's campaign contributions after they drop out?

I always assumed that after they paid the bills relating to their campaign the rest went back to the coffers of the Republican or Democratic parties.

They get to direct them as they wish for other campaigns. or for their own future campaigns. Or they can return them to the donors.

@chyna They don’t come from the “coffers of the…parties.” This is fundraising the candidate does. The party doesn’t spend a dime until it has a nominee, and even then they don’t spend it in an individual race but on the party as a whole.

See? That’s what happens when I think. Thanks for letting us know @zenvelo.

From what I heard recently when a local politician got into legal trouble, they keep their campaign contributions and can use them for whatever they want (for example legal assistance when they commit crimes while in office and need to pay for their defense).

I believe it becomes their own and they can do with it as they wish.

Most of the money Walker raised went to a super-pac, so he didn’t control it. The people in charge of that super-pac will now help candidates with like-minded positions; probably Rubio.

Very often, campaigns end in debt, rather than with surplus funds. If there’s any money left over, after the bills get paid, the applicable law dictates its use. Scott Walker was running for federal office, of course, so he’s subject to federal election law. The rules can be very different on the state or local level.

In my own state, a candidate for state office is prohibited from using excess campaign funds, or any campaign assets, for personal use. There’s a list of acceptable ways to spend the money.

Here is a story on NPR about Rick Perry’s Super PAC Money.