Democrats are raising big money since President Joe Biden said he picked Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be on the Supreme Court.
The party’s digital fundraising site, ActBlue, recorded over $1 million in donations after Biden’s tweet this morning confirmed reports that he would nominate Jackson to the nation’s highest court. Jackson, if confirmed, would be the first Black woman to serve on the bench.
CNBC tracked the live donation ticker on ActBlue’s website in the hours following Biden’s 10 a.m. ET tweet confirmed that he was nominating Jackson to replace the retiring liberal Justice Stephen Breyer. ActBlue recorded just over $100,000 in donations while Biden and Jackson addressed the nation Friday afternoon.
ActBlue is an online fundraising platform for Democratic donors who want to give money to campaigns, political action committees or nonprofit groups. A spokesman for ActBlue declined to comment.
Democratic political groups have been promoting Jackson’s nomination, alongside their social media platforms, which are often used to raise money. Democrats might be feeling the need to use their financial resources to battle potential Republican opposition to Jackson’s nomination.
The Senate is split 50-50 along party lines, and Democrats will need a simple majority to get Jackson confirmed. Several Republican lawmakers have already pushed back on Jackson’s nomination, including Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who previously voted “yes” to confirm her as a circuit judge.
The Judicial Crisis Network, a right-leaning dark money group, was already in the process of a $2.5 million ad blitz attacking Democrats and Biden for their eventual Supreme Court nomination. That organization is run by by allies of conservative judicial activist and advisor Leonard Leo. The organization does not disclose its donors.
Demand Justice, a dark money progressive group, immediately promoted Jackson’s nomination on its Facebook page, encouraging people to call their senators to “urge them to move quickly to confirm” her. The group has since announced a $1 million ad campaign in support of Jackson’s nomination. Its first ad features comments by former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan praising Jackson. (Ryan and Jackson are related through marriage.) The campaign will run on national and Washington D.C.-based cable channels and will include digital ads.
The Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee are among the party committees that have promoted Jackson’s nomination on their Facebook pages.
Representatives for the DNC, DSCC and Demand Justice did not return requests for comment on how much they raised since the official announcement of Jackson’s nomination.
