Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, Democratic fundraising efforts saw a significant boost, with $100 million raised from donors through ActBlue, the party’s primary fundraising platform.
According to data compiled by Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project, ActBlue reported this figure over the past two days, although it’s based on a self-maintained tracker and not official. This surge in donations gives an early indication of fundraising results ahead of upcoming disclosure deadlines.
On the previous Sunday, ActBlue’s donors contributed $66.9 million to kick off Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the largest single-day fundraising haul for the 2024 cycle. The previous record-holder was from September 30, 2020, when Biden and Trump participated in their first presidential debate.
With the extremely high donation totals from Sunday, ActBlue has now raised a cumulative $14 billion since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, its Republican counterpart launched in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion to date.
ActBlue expressed enthusiasm over the influx of donations, stating on social media that many donors indicated it was their first time contributing. This reflects a lively grassroots movement gaining traction.
Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in commitments from major donors within 24 hours of his announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, another political organization, also reported raising over $160,000 within the same timeframe.
Evercore founder Roger Altman remarked that Harris’s campaign will be “very well financed” and pledged his backing. Prominent Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, are also supporting Harris.
Previously, Biden’s strongest fundraising days had occurred after he faced defeat by Donald Trump during a debate on June 27, 2020, pulling in approximately $28 million in the days following. He had also raised $19.2 million after Trump faced legal challenges resulting in felony charges.
From April to June, fundraising activities showed a stark competition with pro-Biden groups raising $332.4 million, while pro-Trump groups accumulated $431.2 million. As of the end of June, Biden had $281 million in hand compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.