Following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would not run for re-election, Democrats successfully raised $100 million through their primary fundraising platform in just two days.
ActBlue, a political action committee focused on fundraising for Democratic initiatives, reported the impressive amount via a live tracker created by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project. Although this figure is not officially certified, it reflects the significant financial support for the party, coming weeks ahead of required financial disclosures.
On Sunday alone, donations to Vice President Kamala Harris’s newly launched presidential campaign reached $66.9 million, marking the largest fundraising day of the 2024 campaign cycle for ActBlue. The previous high occurred on September 30, 2020, coinciding with the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
The recent influx of donations propelled ActBlue past the $14 billion mark in total funds raised since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, its Republican counterpart, WinRed, established in late 2019, has brought in about $4.3 billion, as reported by OpenSecrets.
ActBlue announced on X, previously known as Twitter, that many donors indicated this was their first time contributing. “It’s so motivating to see new small-dollar donors join the grassroots movement!” the organization stated.
In addition to grassroots efforts, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, garnered $150 million in new commitments from significant donors in the 24 hours following Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left also reported raising over $160,000 within the same timeframe to support the eventual Democratic nominee.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s financial backing, declaring her campaign would be “very well financed” and confirmed his support. High-profile Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also committed their support to Harris.
Historically, Biden’s fundraising peaks have aligned with major political events. Following a significant debate defeat to Trump on June 27, Biden’s campaign raised approximately $28 million in just over a day. He also brought in $19.2 million following Trump’s conviction on 34 felony charges, which resulted in $69 million raised by Trump and his affiliated groups within two days after his conviction. This surge of support caused a temporary crash of Trump’s campaign website.
Between April and June, pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million, whereas pro-Trump groups collected $431.2 million. By the conclusion of June, Biden had $281 million available compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.