Joe Biden's candidacy in the US presidential election was widely questioned. Not only voters and politicians of the Democratic Party had doubts, but also donors who, after the US president's disastrous performance in the debate with Donald Trump, threatened to stop financing the Democratic candidate's campaign if Biden was elected. There were several hundred million dollars at stake.
USA: Fundraising becomes easier after Joe Biden resigns
The presidential campaign in the US has several sources of financing. Money for a specific candidate is provided not only by the campaign committee and national and local party committees, but also by so-called political action committees (PACs). They are focused not so much on supporting individual candidates, but on pushing their interests by supporting or opposing specific politicians.
ActBlue, a US fundraising platform supporting left-wing and Democratic politicians, reported that campaign contributions have skyrocketed since Joe Biden's resignation. “Small donors are enthusiastic and ready to participate in this election,” it wrote on X.
Democratic presidential campaign donations skyrocket, reaching historic high
The (presumable) campaign of Kamala Harris, Biden's chosen successor, received about $50 million in a single day. This is the best result in 2024 and the third best in Democratic history. “This could be the biggest fundraising moment in the history of the Democratic Party,” even speculated Kenneth Pennington, a Democratic strategist.
“New York Times” analyzed that donations jumped from an average of about $200,000 per hour in the hours leading up to Joe Biden's departure to nearly $11.5 million in the hour following the announcement of his resignation. The official Democratic presidential candidate will likely be announced in early August.