A day after President Joe Biden announced he would not pursue re-election, Democrats raised an impressive $100 million from donors through ActBlue, their primary fundraising platform.
According to a live tracker managed by Ryan Murphy of The Marshall Project, the funds were compiled over two days, providing insight into fundraising efforts before official disclosures are made. On Sunday alone, donations surged to $66.9 million for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign launch, marking the highest single-day fundraising total in the 2024 election cycle for ActBlue. This eclipsed a previous record set during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump on September 30, 2020.
With Sunday’s donations, ActBlue crossed a significant milestone, totaling $14 billion raised since its establishment two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican equivalent founded in late 2019, has gathered about $4.3 billion to date.
ActBlue noted a wave of new small-dollar contributions, with many first-time donors making donations in the last 24 hours, expressing enthusiasm for grassroots support. Following Biden’s announcement and support for Harris, the super PAC Future Forward reportedly secured $150 million in commitments from large donors within a day. Additionally, the organization Swing Left raised over $160,000 to support the eventual Democratic nominee.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign, indicating it would be “very well financed,” also mentioning support from prominent Democratic donors like George and Alex Soros.
Historically, Biden’s most substantial fundraising spikes have followed significant campaign moments, including a reported $28 million raised shortly after a debate defeat to Trump in June. Biden also garnered $19.2 million after Trump was indicted on 34 felony counts, while Trump raised $69 million in the days following his indictment, causing his campaign website to temporarily crash. Between April and June, pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million compared to $431.2 million for pro-Trump entities. By the end of June, Biden had $281 million in funding, whereas Trump had $336.2 million.