Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, the Democratic Party raised $100 million through its primary fundraising platform, ActBlue. This amount was tracked over a two-day period, providing an early glimpse of the group’s fundraising capabilities ahead of official disclosures.
On Sunday, alone, contributions reached $66.9 million to support Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the highest single-day fundraising total for ActBlue in the ongoing 2024 election cycle. The previous record was set on September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
As a result of this donation surge, ActBlue has now reached a total of $14 billion raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, its Republican counterpart established in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion to date.
ActBlue reported a wave of new small-dollar donors, with many stating they made their first donations in the past 24 hours. Future Forward, a super PAC supporting Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors within a day of Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Additionally, Swing Left, which has launched a fund in support of the eventual Democratic nominee, raised over $160,000 in the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign financing and pledged his support. Notable Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also contributed to Harris’s campaign.
Previously, Biden’s most successful fundraising days followed a debate loss to Trump on June 27, raising about $28 million from that day through June 28. After Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts, Biden collected $19.2 million, while Trump and his aligned groups garnered $69 million within a similar period. There was a surge in donations that temporarily crashed Trump’s campaign website. His affiliated super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., also raised $70 million that month.
Between April and June, groups supporting Biden raised $332.4 million, whereas those backing Trump raised $431.2 million. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in hand compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.