Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, Democrats raised $100 million through their primary fundraising platform, ActBlue. This figure was reported via a live tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project, noting that while the amount is based on ActBlue’s tracking of total donations since 2004, it is not yet official as the necessary disclosures have not been filed.
On Sunday, donors contributed an impressive $66.9 million following the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. This marked the largest fundraising day for the 2024 cycle for ActBlue. The previous record was set on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
With this recent wave of donations, ActBlue has now raised $14 billion since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, the Republican fundraising platform WinRed, which started in late 2019, has garnered approximately $4.3 billion.
ActBlue highlighted the impact of this surge, stating that many individuals made their first-ever donations in the last day, showcasing a strong grassroots response. In addition, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors shortly after Biden’s announcement and Harris’s endorsement. Swing Left reported raising over $160,000 within the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, noted on Monday that Harris’s campaign would be “very well financed” and expressed his support. Democratic mega-donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also shown their backing for Harris.
Previously, Biden experienced significant fundraising boosts after a televised debate defeat against Trump on June 27, resulting in about $28 million raised within two days. Following Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden raised $19.2 million, whereas Trump raised $69 million in a similar timeframe.
From April to June, pro-Biden groups brought in $332.4 million, while pro-Trump groups collected $431.2 million, with Biden ending the period with $281 million in hand compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.