Following President Joe Biden’s exit from the race on Sunday, Democrats have injected $81 million (£62.6 million) into Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
This unprecedented surge, marking the largest 24-hour donation period in presidential history, involved over 888,000 donors contributing less than $200 each.
ActBlue, the progressive donation platform, announced on X that grassroots supporters are highly enthusiastic about backing Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Donors who had previously withdrawn support due to concerns over Biden’s age are now resuming their contributions. Harris’ campaign raised over $27.5 million in its first five hours, nearly doubling by the end of the day and setting a new presidential fundraising record within 24 hours.
According to the New York Times, this is the largest surge in online contributions to Democrats since ActBlue raised $73.5 million in 2020 following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
This influx of funds represents a significant shift for the Democratic Party, which had experienced waning support from major donors after Biden’s poor performance in the June debate against Donald Trump.
Grassroots funding from small donors had also diminished, according to insiders from Biden’s campaign cited in US media.
However, after Biden announced his withdrawal and endorsed Harris, Democrats swiftly went online to donate.
Additionally, Win With Black Women, a group of black women leaders, organised a Zoom call with over 44,000 participants on Sunday night to show their support for Harris.
The group reported raising over $1.5 million in three hours for her campaign.
Source: BBC
