Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, Democrats managed to raise $100 million from donors via their primary fundraising platform.
According to a live tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project, ActBlue, a political action committee dedicated to fundraising for Democratic initiatives, recorded this significant amount over a span of two days. While this figure is not officially confirmed, it offers insight into the fundraising performance ahead of upcoming required financial disclosures.
On Sunday alone, contributors donated $66.9 million to support Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, making it the biggest fundraising day for ActBlue in the current election cycle. This surpasses the previous high, which occurred on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
The influx of donations on Sunday helped ActBlue exceed $14 billion in total fundraising since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, WinRed, the Republican counterpart that started in late 2019, has raised approximately $4.3 billion to date.
ActBlue noted on social media that they observed many individuals making their first-ever donations in the recent 24 hours, highlighting the excitement among new small-dollar contributors to the grassroots movement.
Additionally, Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors within a day of Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Swing Left, which has initiated a fund to support the eventual Democratic nominee, reported raising over $160,000 within the same timeframe.
On Monday, Evercore founder Roger Altman expressed confidence that Harris’s campaign will be “very well financed” and confirmed his support. Democratic heavyweights George and Alex Soros are also backing her campaign.
Historically, Biden’s most successful fundraising days have coincided with pivotal moments, such as after a June debate where he faced off against Trump. Following that debate, Biden and his committees raised around $28 million. In the wake of Trump’s legal challenges, Biden raised $19.2 million after Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, while Trump’s campaign and affiliates amassed $69 million over a similar period.
From April to June of this year, pro-Biden groups collected $332.4 million, whereas pro-Trump groups garnered $431.2 million. As of the end of June, Biden had $281 million available, compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.