Democrats fundraised more than $91 million hours after Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death
Alex Brandon/AP
Democrats raised more than $91 million in approximately one day following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, fundraising platform ActBlue said in a statement late Saturday.
More than $70 million of those donations rolled in on Saturday, breaking the service's all-time record for funds raised in a single day, ActBlue said.
In the 9 p.m. hour on Friday, ActBlue candidates and causes raised some $6.2 million, and in the 10 p.m. hour, it raised $6.3 million, The New York Times first reported.
Donations to the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue surged immediately following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, smashing multiple records since the service first launching and bringing in more than $90 million.
According to ActBlue, some 1.5 million contributions were made to Democratic candidates and causes that totaled $91.4 million from 8 p.m. on Friday until the end of the day on Saturday. More than $70 million of those donations rolled in on Saturday, breaking the service's all-time record for funds raised in a single day, ActBlue said.
With 1.2 million contributions received on Saturday, ActBlue said it surpassed the record number of contributions received in a single day since it was founded in 2004. It also broke the record for the number of contributions received in a single hour, with 104,466 contributions during the 10 p.m. hour on Friday.
"Amid the devastating loss of Justice Ginsburg, it is inspiring to see people taking action to honor her legacy," Erin Hill, ActBlue's executive director said in a statement. "The record-breaking response we've seen from small-dollar donors shows that the left is eager to fulfill her final wish and ready to fight back against Trump and McConnell's vow to push through a Supreme Court nominee."
As The New York Times first reported, from 9 p.m. until 10 p.m. on Friday, ActBlue pulled in some $6.2 million in donations — the most it has raised in a single hour. Then, from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., ActBlue surpassed the record again, bringing in $6.3 million in donations. As The Times noted, ActBlue does not clearly specify the allocation of the donated funds.
Ginsburg died Friday at the age of 87 due to complications stemming from metastatic pancreatic cancer. She spent the last 27 years of her life on the Supreme Court.
Ginsburg's death triggered a political firestorm, as Democrats and Republicans have clashed in recent days over whether President Donald Trump should appoint a successor and if the GOP-controlled Senate should vote on his nomination.
In 2016, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to allow the Senate to debate or vote on President Barack Obama's nominee, Judge Merrick Garland.
But on Friday, McConnell said the Senate would vote on a nominee put forth by President Trump. And on Saturday, the president tweeted that it was his "obligation" to name a new justice to the court, and he told reporters he intends to announce his pick next week and that it will "most likely" be a woman.
Democrats, meanwhile, have urged the Senate to wait until after the November election to vote to confirm a new justice, and at least two Republican senators previously suggested they would not vote to confirm a nominee until after the election. The GOP will need a simple majority to confirm a new justice and the party currently holds a majority with 53 seats.
NPR previously reported that Ginsburg's "fervent" last wish was that she "not be replaced until a new president is installed."
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