Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, Democrats raised $100 million via their primary fundraising platform.
ActBlue, a platform for political action committees associated with Democratic groups, reported this significant fundraising achievement over two days, according to Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project. While this figure is unofficial, as it stems from ActBlue’s comprehensive donation tracker initiated in 2004, it offers insights into fundraising efforts ahead of formal disclosure deadlines.
On Sunday, the day Biden made his announcement, donors contributed $66.9 million toward Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign launch, marking the largest fundraising day in the 2024 electoral cycle for ActBlue. The previous high for donations occurred on September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
With Sunday’s donations, ActBlue has surpassed $14 billion raised since its inception two decades ago. In comparison, WinRed, the Republican equivalent launched in late 2019, has collected approximately $4.3 billion according to OpenSecrets.
ActBlue commented on the surge, noting that many individuals reported making their first donation in the last 24 hours. “It’s incredibly motivating to witness new small-dollar donors joining the grassroots movement!” the organization stated on X, previously known as Twitter.
Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors within a day of his announcement and Harris’s endorsement. Additionally, Swing Left reported raising over $160,000 in the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign financing, pledging his support. Prominent Democratic donors like George and Alex Soros have also shown backing for Harris.
Biden’s fundraising peaks previously occurred after he faced off against Trump in a televised debate on June 27, resulting in approximately $28 million raised over the following day. Following Trump’s conviction on multiple felony counts, Biden raised $19.2 million, while Trump and his affiliates gathered $69 million between May 30 and May 31. This influx of donations caused a temporary crash of Trump’s campaign website. The aligned super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., raised $70 million that month.
From April to June, pro-Biden initiatives raised $332.4 million, while pro-Trump groups brought in $431.2 million. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million on hand compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.