Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not pursue re-election, Democrats successfully raised $100 million from donors through their primary fundraising platform.
ActBlue, a political action committee dedicated to Democratic fundraising, reported this figure over a two-day period, as tracked by Ryan Murphy, a developer for The Marshall Project. While this number is not official and is drawn from ActBlue’s self-reported total since its inception in 2004, it offers insight into the group’s financial performance ahead of mandatory disclosures.
On Sunday alone, donors contributed an impressive $66.9 million for the kickoff of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the largest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle for ActBlue. The record for second-highest donations occurred on September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate involving Biden and Trump, according to Murphy’s tracker.
Following the spike in donations on Sunday, ActBlue surpassed $14 billion in total funds raised since its establishment two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform that began in late 2019, has accumulated around $4.3 billion in donations, according to OpenSecrets.
ActBlue highlighted the influx of first-time donors, stating in a message on X, previously known as Twitter, that the increase was inspiring and indicative of a growing grassroots movement.
Moreover, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors within 24 hours following Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, which supports the eventual Democratic nominee, reported raising over $160,000 within the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, affirmed on Monday that Harris’s campaign will be well-funded and pledged his support. Notably, prominent Democratic donors George and Alex Soros have also expressed backing for Harris.
Historically, Biden’s strongest fundraising days occurred after a debate loss to Trump on June 27, during which he and his committees raised approximately $28 million in just two days. Additionally, Biden garnered $19.2 million following Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts. Meanwhile, Trump and his affiliates raised $69 million in just two days after his conviction, causing a temporary crash of his campaign website. The aligned super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., raised $70 million in the same month.
From April to June, pro-Biden groups garnered $332.4 million, whereas pro-Trump factions accumulated $431.2 million, according to The Financial Times. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in funds compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.