Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, the Democratic Party raised $100 million from donors via its primary fundraising platform, ActBlue. This total was reported within 48 hours by Ryan Murphy, a developer associated with The Marshall Project, although it is not an official figure since it comes from ActBlue’s donation tracker that has been active since 2004.
On Sunday alone, contributions totaled $66.9 million for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign launch, marking the largest fundraising day for ActBlue in the ongoing 2024 election cycle. For comparison, the second-highest fundraising day recently occurred on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
With the recent surge in donations, ActBlue has reached $14 billion in total fundraising since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform founded in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion, according to OpenSecrets.
ActBlue noted a significant influx of new small-dollar donors, with many claiming it was their first time contributing. In addition, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors within a day of Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, an organization supporting the eventual Democratic nominee, reported raising over $160,000 within 24 hours.
Evercore founder Roger Altman expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign, stating it would be “very well financed” and announced his support. Prominent Democratic donors George and Alex Soros have also pledged their backing to Harris.
Historically, Biden has seen significant fundraising spikes following major political events, including a notable $28 million raised immediately after a debate with Trump on June 27. He also raised $19.2 million following Trump’s felony convictions, while Trump’s campaign experienced a surge thereafter that momentarily crashed its website. From April to June, pro-Biden groups amassed $332.4 million, while pro-Trump groups raised $431.2 million. By the end of June, Biden’s available funds were recorded at $281 million, compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.