Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, the Democratic Party raised an impressive $100 million from donors via its primary fundraising platform, ActBlue.
According to a live tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project, this amount was collected in just two days. Although the figures are not official since they are based on ActBlue’s historical donation tracker, they provide insight into the party’s fundraising performance ahead of required financial disclosures.
On Sunday, the day of Biden’s announcement, donors contributed approximately $66.9 million to kickstart Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the most significant fundraising day for ActBlue in the 2024 election cycle. The previous record for donations occurred on September 30, 2020, when Biden and Trump faced off in the first presidential debate.
This recent surge in donations helped ActBlue surpass $14 billion in total funds raised since its inception twenty years ago. In comparison, WinRed, the Republican equivalent launched in late 2019, has raised around $4.3 billion since its launch.
ActBlue noted on X, formerly Twitter, that many individuals indicated this was their first-ever donation, signifying a growing grassroots movement. Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors shortly after the announcements. Swing Left, which supports the eventual Democratic nominee, reported raising over $160,000 within the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence that Harris’s campaign would be well-funded and pledged his support, along with backing from prominent Democratic donors George and Alex Soros.
Historically, Biden’s most successful fundraising days have aligned with significant political events. After a defeat to Trump in a debate on June 27, Biden raised approximately $28 million in a swift response. In the aftermath of Trump’s conviction on multiple felony counts, Biden garnered $19.2 million, whereas Trump and his affiliated groups raised an impressive $69 million in the following days, causing a temporary crash of Trump’s campaign website. In total, pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million between April and June, while pro-Trump groups collected $431.2 million. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in hand, compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.