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In the final stretch of several U.S. congressional primaries, crypto-backed campaign-finance efforts are trying to add to their lists of friendly members of Congress.
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The industry's political action committees supported candidates in Tuesday's primaries in Washington state and Missouri, and they devoted $1.4 million in the hopes of ousting a prominent Democrat in Missouri.
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Support for one Arizona Democrat may be paying off, with the Yassamin Ansari's race moving to a recount with her still holding a 42-vote lead.
After a very tight victory last week in Arizona that's now facing a recount, the cryptocurrency industry's political forces are shifting their attention toward some of the final U.S. congressional primaries of 2024, including Tuesday's elections in Missouri and Washington state.
The political action committees (PACs) backed by crypto firms have waged a $1.4 million ad campaign against Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), one of the standout progressives in the U.S. House of Representatives who advocacy group Stand With Crypto has rated with an F on digital assets issues. And the PACs have recently dropped $1.5 million into Washington state's 6th Congressional District to support Democrat Emily Randall, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Meanwhile in Arizona, the industry can chalk up a very tentative win in the state's 3rd Congressional District, where Yassamin Ansari, a Democratic former vice mayor of Phoenix who has been a crypto advocate, took a 42-vote lead at the final count from last week's election there. Under state rules, that race now goes to a recount.
So far, the focus of the Fairshake super PAC and its affiliated committees has been on transforming Congress into a friendlier entity for digital assets interests, and the groups have shied away from the presidential race, despite some of the key backers of the PACs loudly supporting former President Donald Trump.
A Fairshake spokesman declined to comment on the live races on Tuesday.
After Tuesday's elections, several final states are soon finishing their primaries – including Wisconsin, Connecticut and Alaska – and the political calendar will then turn entirely toward November's general election. Most of Fairshake's congressional primary victors are favored to win their fights in November, potentially adding two dozen crypto fans from both political parties to Congress in the next session.
Fairshake has used its $169 million war chest – virtually unrivaled in current U.S. politics – to support dozens of candidates, but also to buy ads opposing several. Its unlimited advertising spending, an allowed category of "independent expenditures" by super PACS, devoted about $10 million to derailing the Senate hopes of Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and $2.1 million against Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.). More recently, a similar effort turned toward Bush in Missouri.
Fairshake-funded ads don't generally address crypto issues, and – by law – they can't be directly affiliated with the campaigns.
Also in Missouri, Fairshake's affiliates kicked in about $260,000 to support Republican candidate Robert Onder, a state senator, in the crowded 3rd Congressional District race.
Edited by Nikhilesh De.
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Jesse Hamilton is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for global policy and regulation. He doesn't hold any crypto.
