A day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, Democrats raised $100 million through their primary fundraising platform, ActBlue. The amount, tracked by Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project, is not an official count but gives insight into recent fundraising activities ahead of mandatory disclosure reports.
On Sunday, donors contributed $66.9 million to support Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, making it the largest fundraising day in the 2024 cycle for ActBlue. The second-highest day for donations was during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump on September 30, 2020.
Thanks to the boost from Sunday’s donations, ActBlue reached $14 billion in total funds raised since its inception over 20 years ago. In comparison, WinRed, the Republican fundraising counterpart established in late 2019, has gathered about $4.3 billion.
ActBlue reported a significant increase in new donors, with many claiming it was their first contribution. Future Forward, a super PAC affiliated with Biden, received $150 million in new commitments from major donors within 24 hours of Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Additionally, Swing Left, which supports the ultimate Democratic nominee, raised over $160,000 in the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign financing and affirmed his support, while prominent Democratic donors George and Alex Soros have also shown their backing.
Historically, Biden’s fundraising has spiked following significant events, such as raising $28 million shortly after a debate loss to Trump and $19.2 million following Trump’s felony convictions. In the period from April to June, pro-Biden groups collected $332.4 million, while pro-Trump groups raised $431.2 million, with Biden’s total cash on hand at $281 million compared to Trump’s $336.2 million by the end of June.