A day after President Joe Biden announced he would not be running for re-election, Democrats raised $100 million through ActBlue, their primary fundraising platform. This impressive total was recorded in just two days, according to a live tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project. While this tally is unofficial and based on ActBlue’s own records, it provides insight into the group’s fundraising performance ahead of any formal disclosures.
On Sunday alone, the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign garnered $66.9 million, making it the most successful fundraising day for ActBlue in the current election cycle. This surpassed previous high-water marks, including September 30, 2020, when Biden and Trump participated in their first presidential debate.
With the boost in donations, ActBlue has now raised a total of $14 billion since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican equivalent that began in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion, according to OpenSecrets.
ActBlue stated on X, formerly Twitter, that many donors reported making their first contributions in the last day, highlighting a surge of grassroots support. Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors within 24 hours of his announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left reported raising over $160,000 within the same timeframe.
Evercore founder Roger Altman expressed confidence in Harris’s financial prospects, stating that her campaign would be “very well financed.” Notable Democratic benefactors, including George and Alex Soros, have also pledged their support to her.
Previously, Biden’s fundraising peak followed his significant defeat by Trump in a televised debate on June 27, when he and his affiliated committees raised around $28 million. Biden also saw a surge after Trump was charged with 34 felony counts, raising $19.2 million in the days following. Trump, in contrast, and his allied groups raised $69 million from the date of his conviction to the next day, causing his campaign website to momentarily crash. An associated super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., raised an additional $70 million that month.
From April to June, pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million, while pro-Trump entities collected $431.2 million, as reported by The Financial Times. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in his campaign account compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.