One of Democrats’ biggest fundraising weapons, the online platform ActBlue, saw a substantial increase in online fundraising during the first quarter, helping to give congressional Democrats a financial advantage in key races, according to Politico.
More than 4.3 million donors gave $533 million using the ActBlue platform, including pushing some $162 million to Democratic presidential candidates in January and February alone. But far from the primary sucking away energy from congressional races, fundraising for Democratic congressional candidates also soared, in some cases completely crushing the overall hauls of their Republican rivals.
Overall, ActBlue recorded a 50% increase in donations to House races compared to the same period in 2018, along with a 100% increase in Senate races compared to the first quarter of 2018. According to the ActBlue executive director, Erin Hill, the platform took in nearly two-thirds of all funds raised for Democratic House candidates.
ActBlue also reported breaking records in areas such as sign-ups for ActBlue Express, a function that primes donors to make one-click donations in the future by saving a donor's payment information.
Whether the small-dollar donations continue apace amid the coronavirus economic downturn remains to be seen. But Hill said small-dollar donors are always in the position of weighing their personal finances against making a donation.