Just a day after President Joe Biden announced that he would not run for re-election, Democrats saw a remarkable fundraising boost, gathering $100 million from donors through ActBlue, their primary fundraising platform.
According to a live tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project, this significant fundraising sum was recorded over just two days. The total is based on ActBlue’s extensive donation history since its inception in 2004 and offers insight into recent fundraising successes ahead of the obligatory financial disclosures.
On Sunday, donations reached an impressive $66.9 million supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the highest single-day fundraising total for ActBlue in the 2024 election cycle. The previous record for donations occurred on September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
With this surge in contributions, ActBlue surpassed $14 billion in total funds raised since its launch two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform established in late 2019, has collected about $4.3 billion to date.
ActBlue reported a surge in new small-dollar donors, with many individuals stating that they made their inaugural donation in the past 24 hours, reflecting a growing grassroots movement.
Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in fresh commitments from major donors within hours of Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, which aims to support the eventual Democratic nominee, reported raising over $160,000 within the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign, stating it would be “very well financed” while also pledging his support. Prominent Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also given their backing to Harris.
Previously, Biden’s notable fundraising spikes occurred after he faced off against Trump in a televised debate on June 27, collecting around $28 million in just over a day. In the aftermath of Trump’s felony convictions, Biden’s campaign raised $19.2 million while Trump’s associated fundraising saw $69 million amassed shortly thereafter, leading to a temporary crash of his campaign website. Pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million between April and June, compared to the $431.2 million raised by pro-Trump groups. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available, while Trump had $336.2 million.