Democrats Break Fundraising Records In 24 Hours After Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death

 

Democrats opened their wallets in the 24 hours following Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, giving more than $95 million using the ActBlue fundraising platform alone, USA Today reports.

“Record-breaking money poured in from the political left to Democratic candidates after the death Friday of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as Democrats braced for a nomination fight before the presidential election and looked to build momentum for a Senate takeover,” the outlet noted Saturday.

“The liberal-backed ActBlue – a donation-processing site that helps Democratic candidates, committees, and organizations raise money – reported more than $95 million raised from the time Ginsburg’s death was announced until Sunday morning,” USA Today continued.

ActBlue reported that progressive donors “gave $6.3 million in just one hour late Friday,” after the Supreme Court released a statement announcing that the 87-year-old Ginsburg has passed away from complications of pancreatic cancer, according to The Hill. The platform clocked an additional $70.6 million in donations on Saturday. In all, around 1.2 million individuals gave to Democratic campaigns using the ActBlue mechanism.

“The previous daily record was nearly $42 million,” The Hill added. “The previous hourly record was a little more than $4 million.”

Credit for the fundraising success goes to Democratic and left-leaning activists who wasted no time in politicizing Ginsburg’s passing, launching and advertising major fundraising initiatives almost immediately after the justice’s death was confirmed.

Former Obama administration officials who now back “Crooked Media” promoted an ongoing effort to raise money “for 13 Democratic Senate candidates in battleground races,” per USA Today. The campaign, called “Get Mitch or Die Trying,” has raised around $20 million of its $26 million goals, though it does not target the Senate Majority Leader directly. That race is a longshot; McConnell leads his Democratic opponent by a 2-to-1 margin.

Democratic strategists told USA Today that they would prefer the money raised to target McConnell be funneled toward a more universal organization, like the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: “Yes, Mitch McConnell is up for reelection right now, but he’s still holding a double-digit lead despite Amy McGrath getting a ton of money,” one prominent Democrat told the outlet. “If you want to beat him, focus instead on denying him a majority in the Senate. Donate to the @dscc.”

There are also concerns over how progressive groups, who are also raising money off Ginsburg’s death, plan to spend the largesse. Many have already said they will target millions toward a Republican effort to fill Ginsburg’s vacant seat. Demand Justice, one such progressive group, plans to splash out more than $10 million on ads “aimed at preventing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg‘s Supreme Court seat from being filled until after the presidential inauguration in January,” according to The Hill.

Right-leaning groups also begged for donations over the weekend but have yet to release any information on fundraising totals.