Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, the Democratic Party raised $100 million from donors through its primary fundraising platform, ActBlue.
ActBlue, which serves as a political action committee and fundraising platform for Democratic organizations, reported this figure over the past two days, as noted by Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project. Although this amount is not officially recorded yet—since it is based on ActBlue’s comprehensive donation tracker established in 2004—it provides insight into their fundraising performance ahead of upcoming disclosure requirements.
On Sunday alone, contributors donated $66.9 million to Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign launch, marking the largest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle for ActBlue. The second-highest fundraising day in recent history was during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump on September 30, 2020, according to Murphy’s data.
With the recent surge in donations, ActBlue surpassed $14 billion in total funds raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, its Republican counterpart, WinRed, has accumulated approximately $4.3 billion since its launch in late 2019, as reported by OpenSecrets.
In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, ActBlue noted, “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!”
Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors within 24 hours of Biden’s announcement and his endorsement of Harris, according to Politico. Additionally, the organization Swing Left, which supports the eventual Democratic nominee, reported raising over $160,000 within the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed support for Harris’s campaign on Monday, stating it would be “very well financed.” Notable Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also endorsed Harris.
In the past, Biden’s significant fundraising moments occurred immediately following his impactful televised debate against former President Trump on June 27, where he and his committees collected around $28 million between that day and June 28, per a New York Times analysis.
Following Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden raised $19.2 million in the ensuing days, while Trump and his associated groups brought in $69 million from May 30 to May 31, leading to a temporary crash of Trump’s campaign website. The aligned super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. raised $70 million that month.
From April to June, pro-Biden groups raised a total of $332.4 million, compared to $431.2 million for pro-Trump groups, as reported by The Financial Times. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available, while Trump had $336.2 million on hand.