Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, Democrats managed to raise $100 million from donors via their primary fundraising platform, ActBlue.
The funds were generated over a span of two days, as noted by Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project, who tracks the live totals. Although these figures are not officially confirmed, they provide insight into fundraising efforts ahead of any mandatory disclosures.
On Sunday alone, donors contributed $66.9 million following the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, making it the most significant fundraising day for ActBlue in the 2024 election cycle. The second-highest day for donations in recent history occurred on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
With the donation surge on Sunday, ActBlue reached a milestone of $14 billion raised since its establishment two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform that began in late 2019, has collected around $4.3 billion.
ActBlue shared on social media that many supporters indicated this was their first-ever contribution, emphasizing the encouragement of new small-dollar donors joining the grassroots effort.
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 endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, which launched a fund to support the eventual Democratic nominee, reported raising over $160,000 in the same time frame.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, commented that Harris’s campaign will be “very well financed” and expressed his support for her. Prominent Democratic donors George and Alex Soros have also shown their backing for Harris.
Historically, Biden has seen significant fundraising boosts following decisive moments in his campaign. After being defeated by Donald Trump in a televised debate on June 27, Biden raised approximately $28 million within 24 hours. Following Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden secured $19.2 million, while Trump and his associates raised $69 million in the days following his conviction.
During the months of April to June, pro-Biden groups generated $332.4 million, while pro-Trump groups amassed $431.2 million, leaving Biden with $281 million in available funds compared to Trump’s $336.2 million by the end of June.