Democrats broke donation record in 2 consecutive hours following Ginsburg's death

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 19 September 2020

The battle over Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's now-vacant seat was already in full swing just hours after it began.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made it clear he wants to fast-track the confirmation of Ginsburg's replacement and said President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the Senate floor. The president, for his part, said Republicans have an "obligation" to confirm his nominee, whoever it may be, "without delay."

But Democrats also made their position clear. In the 9 p.m. ET hour on Friday, after Ginsburg's death was announced, donors gave $6.2 million online to Democratic causes. That's the most money ever given in a single hour since ActBlue, the party's donation-processing site launched 16 years ago, The New York Times reports. Then, in the 10 p.m. hour, Democratic donors set another record by giving $6.3 million.

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ActBlue doesn't specify where donations go in real time, but one page created by Crooked Media — a media company set up by former Obama administration aides and home to the Pod Save America podcast — called "Get Mitch or Die Trying" (in reference to McConnell) raised more than $3 million in about three hours, the Times reports, and was headed toward $13 million as of Saturday afternoon (at that time, ActBlue had processed $46 million overall since Ginsburg's death.) The proceeds will be divided among 13 different Democrats running for Senate this year. Read more at The New York Times. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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