Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, the Democratic Party raised $100 million through its primary fundraising platform.
According to a live tracker by Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project, ActBlue, a political action committee supporting Democratic organizations, recorded this substantial amount over the last two days. Although this figure is not officially verified, it highlights the group’s fundraising activities ahead of required disclosures.
On Sunday alone, donations reached $66.9 million, marking the largest single-day fundraising effort for the 2024 electoral cycle for ActBlue. The previous record for donations occurred on September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
With the surge in contributions on Sunday, ActBlue has now raised a total of $14 billion since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican counterpart established in late 2019, has garnered approximately $4.3 billion in the same timeframe.
ActBlue expressed excitement over the influx of new donors, noting many were making their first-ever contributions. In the wake of Biden’s announcement and his endorsement of Kamala Harris for the presidency, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, raised $150 million in new commitments from large donors within 24 hours. Additionally, Swing Left reported raising over $160,000 in support of the eventual Democratic nominee within the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, stated on Monday that Harris’s campaign will be “very well financed,” adding his support for her candidacy. Prominent Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also endorsed Harris.
Biden previously recorded his highest fundraising figures after facing Donald Trump in a debate, raising nearly $28 million following the event. He also secured $19.2 million after Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, during which Trump’s campaign saw a significant influx of donations that temporarily crashed its website.
From April to June, pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million compared to pro-Trump groups’ total of $431.2 million, according to reports. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available, while Trump had $336.2 million.