Democratic Donations Dramatically Shoot Up Following Death Of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Donations to Democratic groups skyrocketed following the Friday night announcement of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg’s death.
In the first hour after Ginsburg’s death was announced, ActBlue, a nonprofit that raises funds for Democrats and left-leaning organizations, received more than $6.2 million, according to The New York Times.
Over the course of the following hour, donations soared an additional $6.3 million, with more than $100,000 coming in per minute. That total was the highest amount the site received in a single hour since its founding in 2004. In total, $35 million was raised on Friday, ActBlue confirmed.
As donations poured in, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced his intention to replace Ginsburg with a Supreme Court associate justice nominated by President Donald Trump.
“Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise,” McConnell said in a statement. “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”
At the same time, one of the campaigns using ActBlue, Get Mitch or Die Trying, raised more than $1.5 million, according to tweets from Crooked Media founder Tommy Vietor, whose company is behind that effort.
By Saturday morning, that number rose to more than $9.4 million. Get Mitch or Die Trying donates to 13 Senate races in an effort to flip the Senate to a Democratic majority.
Hey reporters wondering if this SCOTUS news is motivating Democrats. Here is a chart of donations to our fund to help elect Democrats to the Senate. Donate (or watch the number go up) here: https://t.co/KGWmpELi2L pic.twitter.com/XCEk21Wnyh
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) September 19, 2020
Our Get Mitch Senate fund is now at $9.454 million raised. This money gets split between 13 senate candidates. At 5:30PM today the fund was at $3.5 million. https://t.co/KGWmpEtGEb
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) September 19, 2020
Over the course of Friday night and Saturday morning, the ticker on ActBlue’s website continued to increase, and a number of voices chimed in on social media announcing their intention to donate as a means of honoring and protecting Ginsburg’s legacy.
Let’s donate tonight and make a gigantic statement and say thank you to Justice Ginsburg. Let’s flip the Senate for her and save the country. https://t.co/p40AD1G8yX
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) September 19, 2020
Channeled my fear and rage onto @actblue to donate to relevant senate races- join me if you're able.
— Allison Tolman (@Allison_Tolman) September 19, 2020
The opponent of any Senator who votes for a Trump-nominated replacement of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is getting a donation from me.
— JRehling (@JRehling) September 19, 2020
McConnell's statement pushed me. I likely would not have otherwise. And I will soon, after a new paycheck because he is trying to push a new justice so close to the election.
— CamusDigIt (@CamusIt) September 19, 2020
The ActBlue tracker, on their home page is now about to break 6,475,000,000. If I’m reading this correctly, Americans have now donated over $35 MILLION dollars in the painful hours since #RBG’s death. May her memory be a revolution https://t.co/EfoK6rpaqk
— Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) September 19, 2020
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Last Wish: That She ‘Not Be Replaced’ Before The Next President
Outpouring Of Grief As Nation Mourns 'Hero' And 'Titan' Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.