Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not pursue re-election, Democratic Party fundraising surged, accumulating $100 million from donors via its primary platform.
ActBlue, a political action committee dedicated to Democratic fundraising efforts, achieved this total over a span of just 48 hours, according to a live tracking system managed by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project. While the figures are unofficial, they offer insight into the fundraising capabilities of the organization ahead of mandatory financial disclosures.
On Sunday alone, supporters donated $66.9 million to kick off Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the largest fundraising day in the 2024 election cycle for ActBlue. The second-highest donation day in recent times occurred on September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
Due to this influx of contributions, ActBlue surpassed $14 billion in total funds raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican equivalent that started in late 2019, has brought in approximately $4.3 billion.
ActBlue reported on X, formerly Twitter, that a significant number of contributors indicated it was their first time donating, expressing enthusiasm about the growing grassroots movement.
In addition, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, reportedly secured $150 million in new commitments from significant donors within 24 hours of Biden’s announcement endorsing Harris. Swing Left, which established a fund to support the eventual Democratic nominee, raised over $160,000 within the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, stated on Monday that Harris’s campaign would be “very well financed” and expressed his commitment to support her candidacy. Notably, Democratic heavyweights George and Alex Soros have also shown their backing for Harris.
Historically, Biden has seen significant fundraising spikes immediately following critical events, such as a televised debate defeat against Trump, which resulted in approximately $28 million raised between June 27 and June 28. Following Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden pulled in $19.2 million, while Trump and his associated groups amassed $69 million just around the date of his conviction.
From April to June, Biden’s affiliates raised $332.4 million, while those supporting Trump brought in $431.2 million. As of the end of June, Biden had $281 million in funds compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.