Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not be running for re-election, Democrats successfully raised $100 million from donors via their primary fundraising platform.
ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic initiatives, reported this significant amount over a span of two days, as tracked by Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project. Although the reported figures are not official and derived from ActBlue’s own tracking since its inception in 2004, this figure provides insight into the fundraising efforts occurring ahead of any scheduled disclosures.
On Sunday, contributions totaled $66.9 million to kick off Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the largest fundraising day in the 2024 election cycle for ActBlue. The previous high occurred on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump, according to Murphy’s tracker.
With the generous donations received on Sunday, ActBlue reached a milestone of $14 billion in total cash raised since its founding two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, a similar platform for Republicans, has accumulated about $4.3 billion since its launch in late 2019, as per OpenSecrets.
ActBlue noted on social media that many individuals reported making their first donations in the wake of Biden’s announcement, showcasing a surge of grassroots engagement.
In addition, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, garnered $150 million in new commitments from major donors within 24 hours following the president’s announcement and his endorsement of Harris, according to Politico. Swing Left, which initiated a fund to support the ultimate Democratic nominee, also reported raising over $160,000 within the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed his belief that Harris’s campaign will be “very well financed” and announced his support. Prominent Democratic benefactors George and Alex Soros are also backing Harris.
Previously, Biden’s significant fundraising peak occurred right after he faced defeat against Trump in a June debate, raising approximately $28 million within a day. Following Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden managed to secure $19.2 million, while Trump and his affiliates raised $69 million in the aftermath of his conviction. This influx of donations caused a brief crash of Trump’s campaign website. The aligned super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., raised $70 million that month.
Between April and June, groups supporting Biden collected $332.4 million, while pro-Trump organizations raised $431.2 million, as reported by The Financial Times. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.