Nearly 6 million donors contributed record $710 million through ActBlue in three months, group says
Small-dollar contributors gave $710 million to liberal causes and candidates through the online fundraising platform ActBlue between April 1 and June 30 -- a record sum that underscores growing Democratic donor energy just months before November's general election.
Posted — UpdatedNearly half of the 5.7 million people who contributed during the second quarter were first-time ActBlue contributors, and the site processed more donations from more individual donors during the quarter than in any previous three-month period in its 16-year history, the group said.
The blizzard of activity also includes donations to racial justice groups and other organizations that have been at the forefront of the national debate about racism and policing following the May death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
Black-led advocacy organizations have reported a flood of contributions and new members in the wake of Floyd's death and the coast-to-coast protests that have followed.
"Small-dollar donors are driving change," said Erin Hill, ActBlue's executive director, in a statement. "They are engaged at historic levels and pushing for the values they care about in their communities and at all levels of government."
ActBlue officials declined to disclose what share of the second-quarter fundraising went directly to candidates and other political organizations. But recent fundraising reports highlight Democrats' fundraising advantage over Republicans in some of the nation's most competitive Senate contests.
In all five Senate contests considered toss-ups by the Cook Political Report -- races in Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Maine and Montana -- Democratic challengers outraised Republican incumbent senators during the April-to-June fundraising quarter, according to candidate filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Democrats need a net gain of just four seats to seize the chamber from Republicans or three if Democrat Joe Biden wins the presidency and his vice president breaks ties in a 50-50 Senate.
Republicans have sought to catch up to Democrats' online advantage.
WinRed, launched last year as a conservative counterweight to ActBlue, raised more than $275 million for Republican candidates in the second quarter, the group previously announced. That set a record for the GOP platform.
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