Washington, Apr 27 (IANS): Former US Vice President Joe Biden's campaign said it raised $6.3 million in the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign launch, a haul that surpassed the Day One amounts collected by his rivals in the crowded Democratic field.

More than 96,900 people donated online to the former vice president's campaign, his aides said in a statement on Friday.

A source familiar with the figures said the total does not include any general election funds, which means the money can all be used for the nomination battle against the 19 other Democrats seeking the party's nod, CNN reported.

Of that haul, $4.4 million was raised through online donations, his campaign said.

"We are incredibly heartened by the energy and enthusiasm displayed throughout the country for Joe Biden," his deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement.

Twelve hours after announcing, Biden met the fundraising criteria to appear in the early Democratic National Committee debates, his aides said.

Candidates must raise money from 65,000 donors in at least 20 states or meet polling thresholds to join the first two debates.

Biden's campaign did not immediately disclose the total number of unique donors who supported his campaign, beyond those who contributed online.

The former Vice President's one-day haul puts him ahead of the $5.9 million raised by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the first 24 hours of his 2020 presidential campaign.

But Sanders, who is relying on a small-donor army built during his 2016 campaign and sustained in the years since, drew on a huge pool of donors: More than 223,000 individual contributors powered Sanders' first-day fundraising.

Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke raised $6.1 million during his first day as a presidential candidate, but the total included nearly $300,000 in money only available for the general election.