Following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would not pursue re-election, the Democratic Party experienced a significant fundraising boost, raising $100 million from donors through its primary fundraising platform, ActBlue.
This impressive total was recorded over just two days, as noted by Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project who tracks donations. While the figure is not official and is based on ActBlue’s internal tracking since its inception in 2004, it reflects the organization’s fundraising success ahead of any formal disclosure deadlines.
On the day of Biden’s announcement, donors contributed an extraordinary $66.9 million to help launch Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the most significant single-day fundraising event for ActBlue in the current election cycle. The previous record was set during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump on September 30, 2020.
As a result of this recent influx of donations, ActBlue reported that it has raised a total of $14 billion since its establishment two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican fundraising counterpart, has amassed approximately $4.3 billion since its launch in late 2019.
ActBlue celebrated the recent flurry of contributions on social media, noting that many donors had made their first-ever donations in the past day, which they described as an encouraging indication of grassroots support for the movement.
Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new funding from major donors within a day following his announcement and endorsement of Harris. Additionally, Swing Left, which initiated a fund for the eventual Democratic nominee, reported raising over $160,000 in the same time frame.
Prominent figures in the party, such as Evercore founder Roger Altman, affirmed substantial financial backing for Harris’s campaign, as did major Democratic donors like George and Alex Soros.
Historically, Biden has seen successful fundraising moments following significant political events, such as raising about $28 million after a challenging debate with Trump in June 2020. More recently, Biden also garnered $19.2 million in support following Trump’s conviction on multiple felony charges. Trump’s campaign saw a remarkable surge as well, collecting $69 million in the days following his conviction, briefly overwhelming his campaign website.
From April to June of this year, pro-Biden groups raised around $332.4 million, while pro-Trump groups garnered about $431.2 million. As of the end of June, Biden’s campaign reported having $281 million in funds available compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.