Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, Democratic fundraising efforts surged, with $100 million raised from donors through ActBlue, the main fundraising platform for Democratic groups.
According to a live tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project, this figure was achieved over a two-day period. While not official, it reflects ActBlue’s total donations raised since its inception in 2004, offering insight into the group’s fundraising performance ahead of upcoming disclosures.
On Sunday, a remarkable $66.9 million was donated following the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the largest single-day fundraising total for ActBlue in the 2024 election cycle. The day previously held was September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
As a result of the donations, ActBlue reached a milestone of $14 billion raised since its establishment two decades ago, compared to WinRed, its Republican counterpart, which has amassed approximately $4.3 billion since launching in late 2019.
In a statement on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, ActBlue noted an influx of first-time donors participating in the grassroots movement. Meanwhile, the super PAC Future Forward, which supports Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors within 24 hours of his announcement and endorsement of Harris. Additionally, Swing Left, an initiative aimed at backing the eventual Democratic nominee, reported over $160,000 raised in the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign being well-financed and voiced his support. Prominent Democratic megadonors, George and Alex Soros, have also shown their backing for Harris.
Historically, Biden experienced significant fundraising days following his losses to Trump during debates, amassing around $28 million between June 27 and June 28 after a televised debate in 2020. Following Trump’s recent legal challenges, both candidates have seen substantial influxes of donations, with Trump raising $69 million shortly after his felony convictions.
In total, between April and June, pro-Biden groups collected $332.4 million, while their pro-Trump counterparts raised $431.2 million. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.