Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, Democrats raised $100 million from donors through their primary fundraising platform, ActBlue. This figure, tracked by developer Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project, reflects contributions made over the past two days but is not yet considered official until later disclosures are filed.
On Sunday alone, donations amounted to $66.9 million following the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the highest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle for ActBlue. For context, the second-largest day for donations recently occurred on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
This significant surge in contributions allowed ActBlue to surpass $14 billion in total funds raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, its Republican counterpart established in late 2019, has collected around $4.3 billion to date.
ActBlue noted a remarkable increase in first-time donors, stating, “We’ve seen so many folks saying they made their first ever donation in the last 24 hours! It’s so motivating to see new small-dollar donors join the grassroots movement!”
In addition, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors shortly after his announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, which has initiated a fund to support the eventual Democratic nominee, reported raising over $160,000 within 24 hours.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign finances, stating that it would be “very well financed,” while prominent donors such as George and Alex Soros have also shown support for her.
Historically, Biden’s most successful fundraising days occurred after his losses to Trump during the June 27 televised debate, during which Biden and related committees raised approximately $28 million. Subsequent fundraising efforts in the wake of Trump’s legal troubles also saw both candidates attract significant donations, with pro-Biden groups raising $332.4 million compared to $431.2 million for pro-Trump groups between April and June. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in funds available, while Trump had $336.2 million.