Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, Democrats raised an impressive $100 million from donors via ActBlue, their primary fundraising platform.
The announcement was highlighted by Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project, who noted that this figure emerged following Biden’s statement. While the tally is based on ActBlue’s own tracking of donations since 2004, it gives an early glimpse of the group’s fundraising efforts before the official reports are released.
On Sunday alone, contributions totaled $66.9 million, primarily for the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the most significant fundraising day for ActBlue in the 2024 election cycle. Previously, the second-highest day for donations occurred on September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
Thanks to this surge, ActBlue surpassed $14 billion in total funds raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican counterpart that began operating in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion, according to figures from OpenSecrets.
ActBlue reported experiencing a wave of new small-dollar donors, with many stating it was their first time donating. The committee expressed its enthusiasm for the grassroots movement growing within the party.
Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, reported garnering $150 million in new commitments from prominent donors shortly after Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left also reported raising over $160,000 within the first 24 hours of Biden’s news.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, stated on Monday that Harris’s campaign would be “very well financed” and expressed his support for her candidacy. Prominent Democratic donors, such as George and Alex Soros, have also publicly backed Harris.
Historically, Biden’s strongest fundraising days align with significant events, including a notable surge after he was defeated by Trump during a televised debate in June, where his committees raised around $28 million. Additionally, Biden raised $19.2 million following Trump’s conviction on felony counts, while Trump’s associated groups raised $69 million in the same timeframe, leading to technical issues on his campaign website due to the influx of donations. Overall, pro-Biden entities raised $332.4 million between April and June, compared to $431.2 million for pro-Trump groups. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in his war chest, contrasted with Trump’s $336.2 million.