Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, Democratic fundraising efforts saw a remarkable boost, raising $100 million through its primary platform.
ActBlue, a political action committee dedicated to Democratic fundraising, reported this amount collected over the past two days through a tracking system managed by Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project. Although the number is unofficial and comes from ActBlue’s extensive donation history since 2004, it offers insight into recent fundraising dynamics ahead of official disclosures.
On Sunday, a notable $66.9 million in contributions was recorded to support Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the most significant fundraising day of the 2024 election cycle for ActBlue. This surpassed a prior high on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
With this influx of donations, ActBlue surpassed $14 billion raised since its inception two decades ago, while its Republican counterpart, WinRed, which began operations in late 2019, has collected approximately $4.3 billion.
ActBlue reported a surge in new donors, stating on X (formerly Twitter) that many individuals made their very first donations after Biden’s announcement. This was described as an inspiring addition to the grassroots movement.
Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, garnered $150 million in commitments from major donors within 24 hours of Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, an organization supporting the future Democratic nominee, also reported raising over $160,000 within a similar timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in the financial backing of Harris’s campaign. Democratic mega-donors, including George and Alex Soros, have thrown their support behind her as well.
Historically, Biden has seen significant fundraising spikes following challenging moments, such as after his debates with Trump, where he raised about $28 million between June 27 and 28. Additionally, after Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden raised $19.2 million, in contrast to Trump’s allies, who raised $69 million within a single day of that event. All this context points to a highly active fundraising environment for Democrats as they gear up for the next election cycle.