Joe Biden’s campaign said it raised $6.3 million in the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign launch, a haul that surpassed the Day One amounts collected by his rivals in the crowded Democratic field.
More than 96,900 people donated online to the former vice president’s campaign, his aides in new release Friday.
A source familiar with the figures said the total does not include any general election funds. That means the money can all be used for the nomination battle against the 19 other Democrats seeking the party’s nod.
Biden’s campaign did not disclose how much of its money flowed from online donations — one measure of grassroots momentum for a presidential bid — but it noted 97% of its online donations came in amounts of less than $200.
His one-day haul puts him ahead of the $5.9 million raised by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the first 24 hours of his 2020 presidential campaign. But Sanders, who is relying on a small-donor army built during his 2016 campaign and sustained in the years since, appears to have raised his money from a much larger pool of people: More than 223,000 individual contributors powered Sanders’ first-day fundraising.
Biden made it clear during a conference call with supporters this week that he would be judged on his first day fundraising performance. On Thursday, the same day he kicked off his third bid for the presidency, he held a high-dollar fundraiser in Philadelphia that brought in more than $500,000, former Pennsylvania governor and Biden supporter Ed Rendell told CNN.
Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke raised $6.1 million during his first day as a presidential candidate, but the total included nearly $300,000 in money only available for the general election.
