Following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will not seek re-election, the Democratic Party raised $100 million from donors through ActBlue, its primary fundraising platform. This amount was recorded over a two-day period, according to data from Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project. While the figure is not yet official, it reflects a significant surge in contributions ahead of the upcoming disclosure deadlines.
On Sunday alone, donors contributed $66.9 million for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign launch, marking the highest single-day fundraising in the 2024 election cycle for ActBlue. This surpasses the previous high on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
As a result of the increased donations, ActBlue reached a milestone of $14 billion raised since its inception two decades ago. In comparison, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform launched in late 2019, has accumulated approximately $4.3 billion.
ActBlue expressed enthusiasm about the influx of new donors, stating on social media that many were making their first contributions. Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC that supports Biden, secured $150 million from major donors within 24 hours of Biden’s announcement endorsing Harris. Similarly, Swing Left reported raising over $160,000 in the same timeframe.
Evercore founder Roger Altman voiced his support for Harris and indicated that her campaign will be financially strong. Notable Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also supported her candidacy.
Previously, Biden recorded significant fundraising success following various events, including a June debate against Trump, where he raised about $28 million in a two-day span, and $19.2 million following Trump’s conviction on felony charges. In contrast, Trump and his affiliated groups raised $69 million shortly after his conviction, causing a temporary crash of his campaign website. In total, between April and June, pro-Biden groups collected $332.4 million, while pro-Trump groups raised $431.2 million, leaving Biden with $281 million and Trump with $336.2 million by the end of June.