Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, Democrats raised $100 million from donors through the ActBlue platform, a significant political fundraising tool. This was revealed by Ryan Murphy, a developer with The Marshall Project, who maintains a live tracker of donations.
On Sunday, donors contributed $66.9 million to Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the highest single-day fundraising total for the 2024 election cycle on ActBlue. This surpasses previous fundraising efforts, including a notable day during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump on September 30, 2020.
With this surge, ActBlue has now accumulated a total of $14 billion in funds raised since its establishment two decades ago. In contrast, the Republican counterpart, WinRed, has raised approximately $4.3 billion since its launch in late 2019, according to OpenSecrets.
ActBlue noted that many first-time donors stepped forward in the last 24 hours, showcasing a strong grassroots response. In addition, Future Forward, a pro-Biden super PAC, reported receiving $150 million in commitments from major donors shortly after Biden’s announcement and his support of Harris. Swing Left also reported raising over $160,000 within the same time frame.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed his confidence that Harris’s campaign would be well-funded and confirmed his support. Democratic mega-donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also shown backing for Harris.
Biden’s notable fundraising days previously included a significant post-debate boost in June 2020, where his campaign raised approximately $28 million after facing off against Trump. Following Trump’s recent legal troubles, his campaign saw a substantial influx of donations, raising $69 million in just two days after his conviction on 34 felony counts.
Between April and June, pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million, while pro-Trump organizations collected $431.2 million. By the end of June, Biden’s campaign had $281 million in hand compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.