In a remarkable fundraising effort following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will not seek re-election, Democratic donors raised $100 million through ActBlue, the primary fundraising platform for the party. This amount was amassed over a two-day period, as reported by Ryan Murphy, a developer tracking donations.
On Sunday alone, Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign launch garnered an impressive $66.9 million, marking the most successful fundraising day of the 2024 election cycle for ActBlue. This achievement surpasses the previous high, which occurred on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Donald Trump.
The influx of donations has propelled ActBlue to a remarkable milestone, hitting $14 billion in total funds raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, its Republican equivalent, WinRed, founded in late 2019, has accumulated approximately $4.3 billion.
ActBlue reported a surge of new small-dollar donors, with many stating they made their first-ever contributions in the wake of Biden’s announcement. Meanwhile, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from significant donors shortly after the announcement. Additionally, Swing Left reported raising over $160,000 within just 24 hours of Biden’s declaration.
Prominent financier Roger Altman expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign, declaring it will be “very well financed,” and noted that major Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also shown their support.
Historically, Biden’s fundraising peaks followed key political events, such as raising $28 million immediately after a debate loss to Trump on June 27. In the aftermath of Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden raised $19.2 million, while Trump and his affiliates raised $69 million during the same timeframe, briefly overwhelming his campaign website.
Pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million between April and June, while pro-Trump groups totaled $431.2 million. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.