After six Republican and Democratic candidates supported by cryptocurrency-backed interest groups won primaries for US House of Representatives and Senate seats in Texas, one of the biggest political action committees (PACs) said it would “aggressively back leaders” supporting crypto policies in the future.
On Tuesday, candidates notched six wins for congressional runoff primaries in Texas, supported by media spending and endorsements by the crypto industry-affiliates Fairshake, Defend American Jobs, Protect Progress, Blockchain Leadership Fund and Fellowship PACs.
Democrat Christian Menefee primaried incumbent Al Green for Texas’ 18th congressional district and Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton won against incumbent Senator John Cornyn with more than 63% of the vote. Four other Republican candidates — Tom Sell, Alex Mealer, Jon Bonck and Carlos De La Cruz — also won in smaller districts after being the beneficiaries of thousands of dollars in media spending by Defend American Jobs.
Source: Follow The Crypto
US Federal Election Commission (FEC) records showed more than $10 million combined was spent on supportive media and ads by the crypto-aligned PACs for the six candidates. The Fairshake PAC alone reported more than $193 million in its war chest as of January. Following its spending in the 2024 election cycle, the PAC said it would use the funds to support pro-crypto candidates in the 2026 midterms.
“Rep. Green’s defeat proves that anti-crypto hostility carries real electoral consequences, making him the first Democratic incumbent this cycle to lose his seat,” said Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter. “Fairshake was the difference-maker in this race, and we will continue to aggressively back leaders like Rep. Menefee across the country.”
Six states offer next test for PACs
On June 2, California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota will hold primaries for Democratic and Republican candidates for US House and Senate seats as well as several gubernatorial races.
As of Wednesday, FEC records showed about $500,000 on spending by Protect Progress to support Democrats across the six US states: $55,000 for Mike McGuire for California’s 1st congressional district, $54,000 for Lou Correa for California’s 46th, $53,000 for Ted Lieu for California’s 36th, $56,000 for Lateefah Simon for California’s 12th, $55,000 for Zoe Lofgren for California’s 18th, $54,000 for Dave Min for California’s 57th and $163,000 for Rob Menendez in New Jersey’s 8th congressional district.
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With the recent scandal and resignation of California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell, the so-called jungle primary for governor, also on June 2, has widened the field to a variety of Democratic and Republican candidates.
Candidates for California governor. Source: CBS News
California's jungle primary is a system where all candidates for an office, regardless of party affiliation, appear on the same primary ballot. The top two vote-getters then advance to the general election, even if they are from the same political party.
In 2024, Fairshake spent about $10 million on incendiary ads targeting Democrat Katie Porter as part of her run for US Senate in California. Porter lost her 2024 primary, but is on the ballot next Tuesday as a California gubernatorial candidate, raising the question of how the crypto industry will respond to her race.
Vetter told Cointelegraph in April that the PAC doesn’t “comment on strategic decision-making, including whether to enter or not enter a race,” referring to Porter’s candidacy. Cointelegraph sought comment from Porter’s campaign but did not receive an immediate response.
As of Wednesday, no FEC filings appeared to show crypto PAC spending on ads opposing Porter or other gubernatorial candidates. However, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen told Politico in December that he would contribute $39,200 to Porter’s campaign and the same amount to support Republican Steve Hilton.
At last look on Wednesday, bets on prediction market Polymarket favored Hilton and Xavier Becerra, at 86% and 80%, respectively. Porter had a 1% chance to advance to one of the two spots in November's general election.
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