A day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, Democrats raised $100 million through the ActBlue fundraising platform. This amount was gathered over a two-day period, as reported by developer Ryan Murphy, who tracks donations for The Marshall Project. The figures, although unofficial, provide insight into the fundraising efforts ahead of the required disclosures.
On Sunday alone, contributions reached $66.9 million for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign launch, marking the highest single-day fundraising total for the 2024 election cycle on ActBlue. The previous record was set on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
The surge in donations also contributed to ActBlue surpassing $14 billion in total funds raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform established in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion to date.
ActBlue noted an increase in first-time donors, stating that many individuals expressed their excitement about joining the grassroots movement. Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, reportedly secured $150 million from major donors within 24 hours following the announcement. Swing Left, which supports the eventual Democratic nominee, raised over $160,000 in the same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign financing, while prominent Democratic donors such as George and Alex Soros have also shown their support.
Historically, Biden saw significant fundraising success following a showdown with Trump during a June 27 debate, amassing around $28 million in a day. In the aftermath of Trump’s conviction on felony charges, Biden raised $19.2 million, while Trump and his affiliates collected $69 million in just one day following his conviction, causing a temporary crash of his campaign website. Throughout the spring and early summer, pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million, while those supporting Trump collected $431.2 million. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million available, compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.