Following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would not seek re-election, Democrats have managed to raise $100 million through their primary fundraising platform within just two days.
ActBlue, a political action committee and fundraising platform that supports Democratic groups, reported this amount via a live tracker created by Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project. Although the figure is not official, it showcases the fundraising success ahead of the required formal disclosures.
On Sunday alone, Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign launched with an impressive $66.9 million in donations, marking the highest single-day fundraising achievement for ActBlue in the 2024 election cycle. The previous notable day for fundraising was September 30, 2020, when Biden and Trump participated in their first presidential debate, according to the tracker.
The surge in donations on Sunday pushed ActBlue’s total fundraising to $14 billion since its inception two decades ago. In comparison, WinRed, the Republican equivalent established in late 2019, has raised about $4.3 billion, as reported by OpenSecrets.
ActBlue expressed enthusiasm over the influx of new donors, stating on X (formerly Twitter), “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!”
In addition to ActBlue’s success, the Biden-aligned super PAC Future Forward reported receiving $150 million in new commitments from major donors within 24 hours following Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, which has initiated a fund for the eventual Democratic nominee, stated that it raised over $160,000 in just one day.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, commented that Harris’s campaign is expected to be “very well financed” and expressed his support. Additionally, prominent Democratic donors George and Alex Soros have pledged their support for Harris.
Previously, Biden’s fundraising peak occurred after a major debate loss to Donald Trump on June 27, when he and his committees raised approximately $28 million in the following days. After Trump faced conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden raised $19.2 million, while Trump and associated groups raised $69 million during the same timeframe, briefly overwhelming Trump’s campaign website. The super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. raised $70 million in that month alone.
In total, pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million from April to June, while pro-Trump groups garnered $431.2 million, according to The Financial Times. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.