Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, Democrats raised $100 million from donors through ActBlue, their primary fundraising platform.
According to a live tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project, ActBlue reported this fundraising achievement over the past two days. The figure, while not official, is based on ActBlue’s extensive donation data since its establishment in 2004, providing insights into the group’s financial performance ahead of scheduled disclosures.
On Sunday alone, contributions to Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign totaled $66.9 million, making it the largest fundraising day in the 2024 election cycle for ActBlue. This day surpassed all but one other in recent memory—September 30, 2020, which coincided with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
The donation surge has propelled ActBlue to surpass $14 billion in funds raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, its Republican counterpart, WinRed, which started in late 2019, has raised around $4.3 billion, according to OpenSecrets.
“Many people have mentioned making their first-ever donation in the last 24 hours!” stated ActBlue in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday. “It’s inspiring to witness new grassroots contributors joining the movement!”
Following Biden’s announcement and Harris’s endorsement, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from significant donors within 24 hours. Swing Left, which has initiated a fund to support the eventual Democratic nominee, reported raising over $160,000 in the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign, stating it will be “very well financed” and confirmed his support. Notable Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also shown support for Harris.
Biden’s most successful fundraising periods previously followed debates, notably after he was bested by Trump in a televised debate on June 27, raising approximately $28 million over the following day. In the aftermath of Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden collected $19.2 million in the days that followed, while Trump and his allies raised $69 million from May 30 to May 31, a surge that temporarily caused the Trump campaign website to crash. The aligned super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., raised $70 million that month.
Between April and June, pro-Biden organizations garnered $332.4 million, contrasted with the $431.2 million raised by pro-Trump groups. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in funds available, compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.