Crypto-backed political action committees have poured more than $8 million into advertising across three US states holding primaries this week, and the spending spree might just be getting started.
The Protect Progress PAC — an affiliate of the Fairshake network that backs Democratic candidates — has been the biggest spender. It dropped $5.5 million and $1.4 million respectively on primary races in Maryland’s 5th district and New York’s 15th, supporting candidates Adrian Boafo and Ritchie Torres. Another Fairshake affiliate, Defend American Jobs, spent over $400,000 on Republican Blake Moore’s primary in Utah’s 2nd district.
Not everyone’s happy about it. Three of Boafo’s opponents in Maryland — Harry Dunn, Quincy Bareebe, and Rushern Baker — issued a joint statement calling on state leaders to push Boafo to reject what they called “outside spending from crypto billionaires.” They want Governor Moore and other top Democrats to take a public stance.
This cycle’s Alabama primary runoff saw Fairshake spend over $12 million, which they called their “biggest spend of the cycle” — and it worked. Their preferred candidate, Barry Moore, won.
Colorado and Arizona primaries are coming up on June 30 and July 21. No major crypto PAC spending has been disclosed there yet, but Fairshake poured over $10 million into an Arizona Senate race and $2.1 million into a Colorado House race in 2024. Expect more of the same.
