One day after President Joe Biden announced his decision against running for re-election, Democrats managed to generate $100 million in donations through their primary fundraising platform.
ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic causes, reported this substantial amount over the course of just two days. This figure, while not officially verified, is derived from a live tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy, a developer with The Marshall Project. The tracker compiles total donations since 2004, offering insights into the organization’s recent fundraising activities prior to formal disclosures.
On Sunday alone, $66.9 million was raised to launch Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the most significant single-day fundraising event in the 2024 election cycle for ActBlue. The previous notable day for donations was September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
With the recent influx of donations, ActBlue has now surpassed $14 billion in total funds raised since its inception two decades ago. In comparison, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform launched in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion.
ActBlue noted an encouraging trend, reporting that many individuals had made their first-ever donations within the last 24 hours. This surge in new small-dollar donors highlights a growing grassroots movement.
Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in commitments from prominent donors within a day of Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Additionally, Swing Left reported raising over $160,000 in just 24 hours to support the Democratic nominee.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, stated his belief that Harris’s campaign would be “very well financed” and expressed his support for her candidacy. Notable Democratic contributors, including George and Alex Soros, have also shown support for Harris.
Historically, Biden’s most successful fundraising days have tended to follow significant events such as his defeat by Trump in a televised debate on June 27, where he raised about $28 million over the next day. He also raised $19.2 million following Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, while Trump and his affiliated groups amassed $69 million in the days following his conviction.
From April to June, pro-Biden groups collected $332.4 million, compared to the $431.2 million raised by pro-Trump groups. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available, while Trump’s campaign held $336.2 million.