Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, the Democratic Party successfully raised $100 million through its primary fundraising platform, ActBlue.
ActBlue, which operates as a political action committee for Democratic initiatives, reported this impressive total over a span of two days, as seen in a live tracker by Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project. While this tracker is not an official count and relies on ActBlue’s own data gathered since 2004, it offers insight into recent fundraising efforts prior to official disclosures.
On Sunday alone, contributions reached $66.9 million for the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the most significant fundraising day yet for the 2024 election cycle through ActBlue. The previous record for donations was recorded on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
The surge in donations allowed ActBlue to surpass $14 billion in total funding since its inception two decades ago. In comparison, WinRed, a Republican fundraising platform established in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion to date.
ActBlue highlighted the influx of new contributors, stating on X (formerly Twitter) that they saw many individuals making their first-ever contributions in just 24 hours, which they described as an inspiring addition to the grassroots movement.
Moreover, the pro-Biden super PAC Future Forward reportedly attracted $150 million in fresh commitments from major backers within a day following Biden’s announcement and his endorsement of Harris. Additionally, the organization Swing Left raised over $160,000 within the same timeframe to support the eventual Democratic nominee.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed on Monday that Harris’s campaign would be well-financed and committed his support. Prominent Democratic donors such as George and Alex Soros have also pledged their backing to Harris.
Historically, Biden has seen significant fundraising boosts after moments of heightened political activity. After being perceived as defeated in a debate against Trump on June 27, Biden and his associated committees raised roughly $28 million within a day. Following Trump’s indictment on 34 felony counts, Biden generated $19.2 million, while Trump and his affiliated entities raised $69 million in the days following his conviction.
Between April and June, funding for pro-Biden entities amounted to $332.4 million, contrasted with pro-Trump fundraising of $431.2 million. By the conclusion of June, Biden reported $281 million in available funds compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.