Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, Democrats successfully raised $100 million through their main fundraising platform, ActBlue.
According to a real-time tracking tool developed by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project, this donation surge occurred over a two-day period. While this figure is not officially verified, it highlights the significant fundraising activity ahead of the forthcoming mandatory disclosures.
On Sunday alone, donations reached $66.9 million for the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking it as the most successful fundraising day for ActBlue during the 2024 election cycle. This surpassed previous high days, with the second-best being noted during the first presidential debate between Biden and Donald Trump on September 30, 2020.
The recent uptick in contributions allowed ActBlue to surpass $14 billion in total funds raised since its inception two decades ago. In comparison, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform that started in late 2019, has accumulated around $4.3 billion.
ActBlue expressed excitement on social media, noting a significant number of new, first-time donors coming forward in just 24 hours.
Separately, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments shortly after Biden’s announcement and Harris’s endorsement. Additionally, Swing Left reported raising over $160,000 in support of the eventual Democratic nominee within the same time frame.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, remarked on Monday that Harris’s campaign is poised to be “very well financed,” affirming his support for her candidacy. Prominent Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also expressed their backing for Harris.
Previously, Biden experienced a significant fundraising boost following his loss to Trump during a June televised debate, raising approximately $28 million between June 27 and 28. Biden also garnered $19.2 million after Trump faced 34 felony charges, while Trump and his affiliates raised $69 million in the following days, leading to a brief crash of his campaign website.
From April to June of this year, pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million compared to $431.2 million for pro-Trump groups, with Biden ending June with $281 million in hand against Trump’s $336.2 million.