Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not pursue re-election, the Democratic Party raised $100 million from contributors via its primary fundraising platform.
ActBlue, a political action committee focused on fundraising for Democratic organizations, reported this amount over the past two days through a live tracker managed by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project. While this tally isn’t official—it’s based on ActBlue’s own extensive record of donations since 2004—it offers a glimpse into the party’s fundraising performance ahead of required disclosures.
On Sunday alone, an impressive $66.9 million was donated in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the highest fundraising day for the 2024 cycle for ActBlue. The previous record for daily donations occurred on September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump, as noted by Murphy’s tracker.
As a result of the donation surge on Sunday, ActBlue reached a total of $14 billion raised over its two-decade history. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican fundraising counterpart that started in late 2019, has collected about $4.3 billion.
ActBlue reported a significant increase in first-time donors, stating that many individuals shared their experiences of making their inaugural contributions in the last 24 hours. The group emphasized the excitement of welcoming new small-dollar donors to the grassroots effort.
Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new pledges from significant donors within 24 hours following Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, which initiated a fund supporting the eventual Democratic nominee, reported raising over $160,000 in the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed on Monday that Harris’s campaign will be “very well financed” and affirmed his support for her candidacy. High-profile Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also offered their backing to Harris.
Historically, Biden’s most successful fundraising moments occurred after a debate loss to Trump on June 27, when Biden and his teams raised around $28 million from that day through June 28, according to a New York Times analysis.
Biden also raised $19.2 million in the aftermath of Trump being convicted on 34 felony counts. In contrast, Trump and affiliated entities accumulated $69 million from May 30 to May 31 following his conviction, leading to temporary disruptions on Trump’s campaign website. The super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. also raised $70 million during that particular month.
From April to June, pro-Biden organizations generated $332.4 million, while pro-Trump entities raised $431.2 million, as reported by The Financial Times. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in funds available compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.