Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, Democrats raised $100 million through their primary fundraising platform, ActBlue. This amount was tracked over a two-day period, according to Ryan Murphy, a developer at The Marshall Project. Although these figures are not yet official and are based on ActBlue’s historical data since 2004, they indicate strong fundraising momentum ahead of required disclosures.
On Sunday alone, nearly $66.9 million was generated for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the highest single-day fundraising in the 2024 election cycle for ActBlue. The previous record was set on September 30, 2020, when Biden and Trump participated in their first presidential debate.
With this influx of donations, ActBlue has now raised a total of $14 billion since its inception. In comparison, WinRed—a fundraising platform for Republicans—has amassed approximately $4.3 billion since its launch in late 2019.
ActBlue reported a significant wave of new donors, expressing excitement on social media platforms about first-time contributions. Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, reportedly secured $150 million in commitments from major donors within 24 hours following Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left also reported raising over $160,000 in the same timeframe.
Financial expert Roger Altman indicated that Harris’s campaign will be well-funded and pledged his support. High-profile Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also backed her campaign.
Previously, Biden saw his strongest fundraising days after a significant loss to Trump during a televised debate on June 27, raising around $28 million in the days following. Biden also raised $19.2 million shortly after Trump faced felony charges. Conversely, Trump and associated groups collected $69 million following his conviction in late May, which momentarily overwhelmed his campaign website.
From April to June, pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million, while pro-Trump groups garnered $431.2 million, leading to Biden having $281 million in resources compared to Trump’s $336.2 million by the end of June.