Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, Democrats raised $100 million through their primary fundraising platform, ActBlue.
In a live tracking update by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project, it was noted that this figure was collected over the past 48 hours, although it is not yet official as it is based on ActBlue’s own comprehensive donation data since its inception in 2004. This early reporting highlights the group’s fundraising capabilities ahead of official disclosures.
On Sunday alone, donations reached $66.9 million in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign launch, marking ActBlue’s most significant fundraising day for the 2024 election cycle. The previous high for recent donations occurred on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
Following this surge on Sunday, ActBlue’s total contributions since its establishment two decades ago exceeded $14 billion. In comparison, WinRed, the Republican equivalent that started in late 2019, has raised about $4.3 billion according to OpenSecrets.
ActBlue remarked on social media that many new donors reported making their first contributions in the last day, highlighting the grassroots movement’s momentum.
Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, reportedly secured $150 million in new commitments from significant donors within 24 hours after Biden’s announcement and subsequent endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, which supports the eventual Democratic nominee, stated it raised over $160,000 within a day.
Evercore founder Roger Altman expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign financing and publicly pledged his support. Prominent Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also endorsed Harris.
Biden’s previous notable fundraising days came after his defeat to Trump in a debate on June 27, which saw him and related committees raise about $28 million in a short span. Additionally, Biden raised $19.2 million following Trump’s felony conviction on 34 counts, while Trump and his allies amassed $69 million in the wake of his conviction. The influx of donations caused momentary disruptions to Trump’s campaign website. His aligned PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., raised $70 million that month.
From April to June, pro-Biden groups collected $332.4 million compared to $431.2 million raised by pro-Trump groups, as reported by The Financial Times. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in funds available, while Trump had $336.2 million on hand.