Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not pursue re-election, Democrats raised $100 million from donors via their primary fundraising channel.
ActBlue, a political action committee and fundraising platform for Democratic organizations, reported this amount has been gathered over the past two days. This figure, while based on ActBlue’s long-term donation tracker, gives insight into fundraising trends before official disclosures are made.
On Sunday alone, supporters raised $66.9 million to launch Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the highest single-day fundraising total in the current election cycle for ActBlue. The previous record was on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
The influx of donations on Sunday helped ActBlue surpass $14 billion in total funds raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, its Republican counterpart WinRed, which began in late 2019, has collected approximately $4.3 billion, as reported by OpenSecrets.
ActBlue noted an enthusiastic response from many first-time donors, expressing excitement over the new grassroots contributors joining the movement.
Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, garnered $150 million in commitments from major donors within a day of Biden’s announcement and Harris’s endorsement, according to Politico. Furthermore, Swing Left, a group aiming to support the eventual Democratic nominee, raised more than $160,000 in just 24 hours.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign, stating it would be “very well financed” and confirmed his support. Notable Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also endorsed Harris.
Previously, Biden’s significant fundraising moments occurred following his defeat against Trump in a debate, which resulted in approximately $28 million raised in the subsequent days. Additionally, Biden collected $19.2 million after Trump faced felony charges, while Trump and his affiliates raised $69 million in the immediate aftermath of his conviction, leading to a temporary crash of his campaign website. His aligned super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., raised $70 million during that month.
From April to June, pro-Biden organizations raised $332.4 million, while pro-Trump entities amassed $431.2 million, according to The Financial Times. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.