Just a day after President Joe Biden announced that he would not pursue re-election, Democrats successfully raised $100 million from donors through its primary fundraising platform.
ActBlue, a political action committee designed for Democratic fundraising, noted this amount over the last two days through a tracker managed by Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project. While this figure is not officially documented—since it relies on ActBlue’s comprehensive donation data since its inception in 2004—it gives insight into the group’s financial progress ahead of the mandatory disclosures.
On Sunday alone, donors contributed $66.9 million towards the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, resulting in the highest day of fundraising for the 2024 cycle for ActBlue. The second-best fundraising day occurred on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
This donation surge helped ActBlue reach an impressive total of $14 billion raised since its formation two decades ago. In comparison, WinRed, the Republican fundraising counterpart established in late 2019, has accumulated approximately $4.3 billion according to OpenSecrets.
ActBlue expressed excitement about the influx of new donors, stating that many indicated they made their first donation in the past 24 hours. “It’s so motivating to see new small-dollar donors join the grassroots movement!” the organization shared in a statement on X, previously known as Twitter.
Future Forward, a super PAC associated with Biden, reportedly garnered $150 million in new pledges from major contributors within 24 hours of Biden’s announcement and subsequent endorsement of Harris. Additionally, Swing Left, which initiated a fund to support the eventual Democratic nominee, raised over $160,000 within a day as reported by Agence France-Presse.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, remarked on Harris’s campaign financing prospects, stating it would be “very well financed” and pledged his support. Prominent Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also expressed backing for Harris.
Historically, Biden’s notable fundraising days followed a televised debate defeat against Trump on June 27, raising about $28 million in the subsequent days. He also accumulated $19.2 million following Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts. In contrast, Trump and his affiliates amassed $69 million during the same timeframe, leading to a temporary crash of his campaign website. An associated super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., reportedly raised $70 million that month.
Overall, between April and June, pro-Biden organizations raised a total of $332.4 million, while pro-Trump groups collected $431.2 million, according to The Financial Times. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.