Following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will not run for re-election, Democrats have successfully raised $100 million from donors via ActBlue, their primary fundraising platform. This figure was recorded over a two-day period, according to a tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project. While the tally is unofficial, as it is based on ActBlue’s internal records since its inception in 2004, it offers insight into the party’s fundraising efforts ahead of upcoming disclosure deadlines.
On Sunday alone, supporters contributed $66.9 million to Vice President Kamala Harris’s newly launched presidential campaign, making it the most successful fundraising day for ActBlue in the lead-up to the 2024 election cycle. The second-highest single-day donation record occurred on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
This surge in donations enabled ActBlue to surpass $14 billion in total funds raised since its establishment two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform launched in late 2019, has accumulated approximately $4.3 billion during its operation.
ActBlue expressed enthusiasm on social media platform X, noting the influx of new small-dollar donors contributing for the first time over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the super PAC Future Forward, aligned with Biden, reported gathering $150 million in new commitments shortly after Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Another organization, Swing Left, announced it raised over $160,000 within a day of the announcement.
Roger Altman, the founder of Evercore, commented that Harris’s campaign would be well-supported financially, highlighting contributions from prominent Democratic donors such as George and Alex Soros.
Historically, Biden’s most lucrative fundraising periods often followed strategic political moments, such as after his debates with Trump and in response to Trump’s legal challenges. For instance, after being outperformed by Trump in a debate on June 27, Biden’s camps raised around $28 million in the following days. Following Trump’s recent legal issues, pro-Biden groups secured $332.4 million from April to June, compared to $431.2 million raised by Trump supporters during the same timeframe. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in available funds as opposed to Trump’s $336.2 million.