Following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will not pursue re-election, Democrats raised an impressive $100 million in just two days through ActBlue, their primary fundraising platform.
ActBlue, a political action committee dedicated to supporting Democratic initiatives, recorded this significant fundraising milestone, as tracked by Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project. While this figure is not officially verified—it’s based on ActBlue’s comprehensive donation data since 2004—it offers a glimpse into their fundraising strength ahead of the formal disclosure deadlines.
On the first day alone, contributors added $66.9 million for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the highest single-day fundraising total for ActBlue in the current election cycle. This surpasses the previous record set on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
ActBlue’s recent fundraising activity also pushed its total cash raised to $14 billion since its inception two decades ago. In comparison, WinRed, the fundraising counterpart for Republicans which started in late 2019, has gathered about $4.3 billion in that time.
Many new donors emerged during this recent surge, with ActBlue noting an influx of first-time contributions via social media. Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, received $150 million in new commitments from major donors within the first 24 hours of the announcement, while the organization Swing Left raised over $160,000 in the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, announced his support for Harris’s campaign, projecting that it would be well-financed. Notable Democratic benefactors, including George and Alex Soros, have also pledged their backing.
In past fundraising windows, Biden saw substantial donations after being challenged by Trump during a televised debate and following Trump’s legal troubles. From late April to June, pro-Biden groups raised approximately $332.4 million, while pro-Trump factions collected around $431.2 million. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available, compared to Trump’s $336.2 million in campaign funds.