Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, the Democratic Party raised $100 million from donors through its primary fundraising platform. ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic initiatives, reported this significant fundraising amount over the past two days via a tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project. While this figure is unofficial and sourced from ActBlue’s extensive donation records dating back to 2004, it highlights the organization’s fundraising performance ahead of upcoming required disclosures.
On Sunday alone, donations surged to $66.9 million, coinciding with the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking a record day for ActBlue in the current election cycle. The previous notable fundraising day occurred on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
The recent influx of donations also pushed ActBlue’s total funds raised to $14 billion since its inception two decades ago, whereas WinRed, its Republican equivalent launched in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion.
ActBlue expressed excitement over the new donor engagement, sharing that many individuals were making their first donations within the last day in a statement on social media. Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in commitments from major donors shortly after Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, which has initiated a fund to support the future Democratic nominee, reported raising more than $160,000 within the same time frame.
On Monday, Evercore founder Roger Altman voiced support for Harris’s campaign, emphasizing its strong financial backing. Prominent Democratic donors, George and Alex Soros, have also shown support for her candidacy.
Historically, Biden’s strongest fundraising periods followed significant political events. After being challenged by Trump during a televised debate on June 27, Biden’s campaign raised around $28 million within a day. Following Trump’s felony convictions, Biden raised $19.2 million, while Trump and his affiliates brought in $69 million during the same timeframe, even causing a temporary crash of his campaign website due to the surge in donors.
Reports indicate that from April to June, groups supporting Biden raised $332.4 million, while those backing Trump collected $431.2 million, with Biden ending June with $281 million compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.