Democrats are seeing a flood of donations from grassroots and big donors after President Biden dropped out of the presidential race Sunday afternoon in a surprise move he said was best for the Democratic Party and the nation.
Within an hour of Biden making his surprise announcement, Democrats had raised more than $5 million in donations, according to ActBlue tracking.
Within three hours on Sunday afternoon, the flood of donations had reached nearly $16 million online, and more money was still coming in. In just 20 minutes, another $1 million was raised on Sunday evening.
In just over four hours, the total had risen to nearly $25 million.
It’s not yet clear exactly where all those donations will go. ActBlue’s tracker includes total donations, so it would include the national party, the Biden campaign and other Democrats.
President Biden dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his candidate, triggering an avalanche of online donations to Democrats.
But after Biden dropped out of the race, he announced he would endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 race.
‘“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year. Democrats, it’s time to come together and defeat Trump. Let’s do it,” he posted. The president included a link to raise funds for Harris’ candidacy.
Major donors DailyMail.com spoke to after the announcement praised the president’s work in office and confirmed that donors are returning in droves to help the Democratic ticket.
One fundraiser told DailyMail.com there was a “MASSIVE response” in terms of both the amount raised on Sunday and the number of donors who got in touch.
She said she couldn’t keep up with all the people texting her and called the response “wild” and more than she could have ever imagined.
Another major donor called the day “bittersweet” for those who have long supported the Biden administration with its tremendous successes and policy initiatives, but said they have “every confidence and enthusiasm for” Harris.
“She is brilliant, with decades of leadership experience in some of the most demanding roles in politics, and I know she will act with the utmost integrity and compassion to help all Americans, even those who don’t yet know her or who may disagree with her,” he said.
“I love Kamala and will certainly support her,” said a third contributor.
President Biden’s surprise announcement came after weeks of doubts about whether he was fit to serve a second term following his disastrous performance in the June 27 debate.
Since then, a slow trickle of Democratic lawmakers have been calling for him to step aside.
Harris supported Biden to the very end and spent time on the campaign trail praising the work of his administration.
ActBlue tracking showed an avalanche of more than $15 million in donations in less than three hours on Sunday afternoon after Biden dropped out of the race.
After Biden released his letter and endorsed his vice president, Harris officially announced she would run for president and formally filed her candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.
Despite her White House bid, Harris is not assured of the nomination. No other Democrats have yet entered the race, but it could lead to a wild mini-primary season before delegates officially vote on a nominee next month.
And while it remains to be seen how much money Democrats will raise and where it will go, Harris has long been a major driver of donations within the party.
When she was named Biden’s running mate in August 2020, it ended up being Biden’s biggest campaign fundraising day of the entire election season. His campaign raised $26 million in one day after announcing Harris as the running mate.