Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:08 pm
The nonprofit fundraising group ActBlue announced this week that their fundraising from small donors for the 2018 election cycle is far exceeding their expectations. If they continue to raise money at their current pace then ActBlue could provide Democratic candidates a much-need $1 billion war chest to use in their battle to take back control of Congress this year.
As much as any other group in the country ActBlue is trying to create a Blue Wave:
“As of last night, grassroots donors have raised more this election cycle than in the ENTIRE 2016 cycle. Small-dollar donors gave $781M in all of 2015 & 2016. But since Jan 2017, we’ve handled $783M for thousands of groups — with six months to go until Election Day! #BlueWave2018”
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As of last night, grassroots donors have raised more this election cycle than in the ENTIRE 2016 cycle. Small-dollar donors gave $781M in all of 2015 & 2016. But since Jan 2017, we've handled $783M for thousands of groups — with six months to go until Election Day! #BlueWave2018 pic.twitter.com/vsivesvOnE
— ActBlue (@actblue) May 15, 2018
This is great news not only for Democrats but also for democracy. The only way to take control of government back from big corporations and billionaire donors is for the American people to give money to offset their political contributions.
We knew big money was raised from small donors in the 2016 election cycle but the fact that more has been raised for the 2018 elections than 2016 — and there are six months left until the elections — is a great sign of hope for our country.
Everyone knows that money by itself doesn’t buy election victories because elections are won with votes, not with dollars. But middle class Americans who want to run for office must get the money from somewhere, or they won’t be competitive. And ActBlue provides the means for them to do that.
As we saw with the campaigns of Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders it is not just the amount of money that counts, but also the number of people who contribute. We have seen more grassroots activism recently than had been seen for a long time, which means disenfranchised populations such as young people, women and minorities are getting involved. And even lower-income people may be able to afford small donations, which really add up. Of course people who are giving money will also be voting, and in midterm elections voter turnout is the key to Democratic victories.
ActBlue pointed this out in a second tweet where it said they have had 3.3 million individual people give money:
Over 3.3 million people have donated on ActBlue since January 2017 to get us to that $783M total! Wondering what those donors look like? 57% of them made their first contribution on ActBlue during this cycle and 61% of them are women‼ï¸
— ActBlue (@actblue) May 15, 2018
We should all be thankful that ActBlue is providing the technology, the support and the means for Democrats to raise money to run for political office. Getting involved in politics is an act of hope and confidence that we can indeed restore “power to the people.”
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
