In politics, money can be a pretty good stand-in for enthusiasm. And the donations pouring in to the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue since Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death indicate there is a lot of energy and money on the left.
According to the constantly-ticking tracker on ActBlue's website, in the hours from 9 p.m. ET, when the news of Ginsburg's death became widely known, to Saturday afternoon, more than $46 million was donated to Democratic candidates and causes. The number keeps rising by thousands every second.
The death of the iconic justice could change the ideological balance of the court and raises the already high stakes in the race for president and U.S. Senate. Traditionally, the courts have been a powerful motivator for conservative voters, especially white evangelical Christians. The question now is whether that dynamic will change in 2020 because the vacancy left by Ginsburg is so significant for those on the left.
The Trump campaign, Republican National Committee and the congressional campaign committees did not immediately respond to requests for comparable fundraising data.
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