Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, Democrats managed to raise $100 million from donors through their primary fundraising platform, ActBlue. This significant sum was recorded over a two-day period, as per a live tracker maintained by Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project. Although this figure is not officially confirmed, it gives insight into the fundraising efforts of the Democratic Party before formal disclosures are required.
On Sunday alone, donor contributions reached $66.9 million following the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the largest single-day fundraising total of the 2024 election cycle for ActBlue. By comparison, the second-largest day for donations in recent times occurred on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
With this recent influx of donations, ActBlue surpassed a milestone, raising a total of $14 billion since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, its Republican counterpart, WinRed, which began in late 2019, has generated approximately $4.3 billion in donations.
ActBlue reported a surge of new donors, citing many individuals making their first-ever contributions in the past 24 hours, highlighting the renewed interest in grassroots fundraising. Future Forward, a super PAC aligned with Biden, reportedly secured $150 million in new commitments from major donors within a day of Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Additionally, Swing Left raised over $160,000 in that same timeframe.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence in Harris’s campaign, predicting strong financial support. Major Democratic donors, including George and Alex Soros, have also pledged their backing.
Previously, Biden experienced lucrative fundraising days immediately following notable events, like his debate losses to Trump or after Trump’s recent felony conviction. In May, Trump and his associated groups raised $69 million in just two days, causing a temporary crash of his campaign website.
Between April and June, pro-Biden groups raised $332.4 million, whereas pro-Trump factions secured $431.2 million. By the end of June, Biden reported having $281 million on hand compared to Trump’s $336.2 million.