Democrats have raised an impressive $100 million from donors through its principal fundraising platform, ActBlue, just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not pursue re-election.
The fundraising surge has been documented by live tracker Ryan Murphy, who works with The Marshall Project, although the total amount is not yet official as it is based on ActBlue’s extensive donation history since 2004. The data shows the significant impact of Biden’s announcement, with $66.9 million raised on Sunday alone for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the largest fundraising day thus far in the 2024 election cycle. This eclipsed the previous high on September 30, 2020, when Biden and Trump faced off in their first debate.
ActBlue also celebrated reaching a total of $14 billion raised since its inception 20 years ago, while its Republican counterpart, WinRed, has accumulated about $4.3 billion since its launch in late 2019, as reported by OpenSecrets.
In a statement on social media platform X, ActBlue noted a surge of first-time donors contributing in the wake of the announcement, emphasizing the grassroots movement’s growing momentum.
Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors within 24 hours of Biden’s announcement and his endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, which initiated a fund to support the eventual Democratic candidate, reported raising over $160,000 in just one day.
Notable backers of Harris include Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, who affirmed that her campaign will be “very well financed.” Prominent Democratic financiers George and Alex Soros have also pledged their support to her.
Historically, Biden’s fundraising efforts saw substantial boosts after notable events, such as after a televised debate defeat against Trump in June 2020, when his campaign raised around $28 million within a day. Following Trump’s felony conviction, both he and his aligned groups collected significant donations, highlighting the intense financial competition in this election cycle.
From April to June, pro-Biden initiatives amassed $332.4 million, while pro-Trump efforts yielded $431.2 million, indicating a closely contested fundraising battle as the campaigns progress. By the end of June, Biden reported having $281 million in available funds, compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.