Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, Democrats managed to raise $100 million through their primary fundraising platform. ActBlue, a political action committee dedicated to fundraising for Democratic groups, reported this amount over the previous two days, according to a tracker maintained by developer Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project. Although these figures are not official, they give insight into the fundraising achievements of the organization ahead of any required disclosures.
On Sunday alone, donors contributed $66.9 million to support the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, making it the largest fundraising day for ActBlue in the 2024 election cycle. The previous record for daily donations was set on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
This increase in contributions helped ActBlue reach a total of $14 billion raised since its establishment two decades ago. In comparison, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform that started in late 2019, has accumulated about $4.3 billion in donations since its inception.
ActBlue noted a surge in new small-dollar donations, stating on social media, “We’ve seen so many folks saying they made their first ever donation in the last 24 hours! It’s so motivating to see new small-dollar donors join the grassroots movement!”
Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, reported receiving $150 million in new commitments from large donors following Biden’s announcement and support for Harris. Swing Left, which initiated a fund backing the eventual Democratic nominee, stated it raised over $160,000 within the same 24-hour period.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence that Harris’s campaign would be “very well financed” and confirmed his support. Prominent Democratic donors, George and Alex Soros, have also endorsed Harris.
Historically, Biden’s most successful fundraising days occurred right after he was defeated by former president Donald Trump during a debate on June 27. Following that event, he and his associated committees raised approximately $28 million within a two-day span, as reported by The New York Times.
Biden also raised $19.2 million after Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts. In contrast, Trump and his affiliated groups raised $69 million in the 24 hours following his conviction on May 30, leading to a temporary crash of his campaign website. The aligned super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., also raised $70 million during that month.
From April to June, groups supporting Biden secured $332.4 million, while pro-Trump organizations garnered $431.2 million, as indicated by The Financial Times. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in resources compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.