Just one day after President Joe Biden announced that he would not pursue re-election, Democrats raised $100 million through ActBlue, their primary fundraising platform. This figure, tracked by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project, reflects the donations gathered over the past two days, although it is not yet officially confirmed by required disclosures.
On Sunday alone, Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign garnered an impressive $66.9 million, marking the largest single-day fundraising total of the 2024 election cycle for ActBlue. Comparatively, the second-highest fundraising day occurred on September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
With the significant boost in contributions on Sunday, ActBlue surpassed $14 billion in total cash raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform that started in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion to date.
ActBlue announced on X, formerly Twitter, that many donors had reported making their first donations in the last 24 hours, highlighting the excitement around newfound grassroots support.
Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors within a day of Biden’s announcement and Harris’s endorsement. Additionally, Swing Left reported raising over $160,000 in just 24 hours to support the eventual Democratic nominee.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign, stating that it would be “very well financed,” while notable Democratic donors George and Alex Soros have demonstrated their support for Harris.
Historically, Biden has seen significant fundraising efforts following challenging moments, including his fundraising totaling around $28 million after a televised debate defeat against Trump in June. In the wake of legal troubles for Trump, Biden raised $19.2 million shortly after Trump’s conviction on felony counts, while Trump and his affiliated groups collected $69 million during that period, briefly overwhelming his campaign website. Pro-Biden groups raised a total of $332.4 million from April to June, while Trump-aligned groups brought in $431.2 million, leaving Biden with $281 million in funds compared to Trump’s $336.2 million by the end of June.