Democrats raised $100 million from donors through ActBlue, their primary fundraising platform, just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election.
ActBlue recorded the substantial donations over the past two days, according to a tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project. This preliminary count showcases fundraising efforts ahead of official disclosures and reflects the group’s activities since 2004.
On Sunday alone, contributions reached $66.9 million for Vice President Kamala Harris’s newly launched presidential campaign, marking a significant fundraising day for the 2024 election cycle. This eclipsed the previous high seen on September 30, 2020, during the first Biden-Trump presidential debate.
As a result of the recent fundraising boost, ActBlue celebrated surpassing $14 billion in total cash raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, its Republican counterpart established in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion as reported by OpenSecrets.
ActBlue noted a surge in new donors, stating on X, formerly Twitter, that many had made their first donation within the last 24 hours, energizing the grassroots movement.
Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, reportedly received $150 million in new commitments from major donors shortly after Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left also announced raising over $160,000 in the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign financing, while prominent Democratic donors like George and Alex Soros extended their support.
Historically, Biden’s most successful fundraising days followed high-stakes moments, such as when he raised about $28 million after being outperformed by Trump in a debate on June 27. He also raised $19.2 million in the wake of Trump’s felony conviction and saw Trump and his affiliated groups raise $69 million in the days directly following.
Between April and June of this year, pro-Biden entities gathered $332.4 million, while pro-Trump organizations brought in $431.2 million. As of the end of June, Biden held $281 million in funds against Trump’s $336.2 million.