Crypto PACs Contribute to Congressional Candidates in Super Tuesday Elections

According to CoinDesk, crypto political action committees (PACs) contributed to congressional candidates who won their primaries on Tuesday, including in Texas, North Carolina, and Alabama. The majority of their giving went to tank U.S. Rep. Katie Porter in her bid for a California Senate seat. Crypto interests had focused special attention on ensuring U.S. Rep. Katie Porter failed to secure a Senate seat in California, based on fears that she'd emulate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) as a digital assets antagonist. In California's top-two primary contest, initial results show Porter coming in a distant third, which not only leaves the prominent progressive out of the running for the Senate but also out of a job next year in the House of Representatives. "From the White House to the Senate to the House, make no mistake: The crypto voter is here," said Josh Vlasto, a spokesman for Fairshake and other political action committees (PACs) established by crypto businesses and investors. "The crypto voter cares whose side a candidate is on, and the crypto voter will play a pivotal role in the 2024 elections." In total, the crypto PAC, including Fairshake and Protect Progress, spent more than $13 million on four congressional races, Vlasto reported. Of that amount, more than $10 million was devoted to defeating Porter. Crypto interests also steered $1.7 million to help Shomari Figures dominate a crowded field of Democrats for a House race in Alabama. Figures – a veteran of several government roles in Washington – once worked for Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who has so far been an impediment to crypto legislation progress as the chair of the Senate Banking Committee. But Figures indicated on his campaign website that he'd "embrace the new landscape around digital assets, like cryptocurrency, to stimulate innovation and technological advancement." In Texas, the industry PACs backed Julie Johnson with almost $1 million in another congressional race in which she'd so far secured more than half of the vote, despite facing nine other Democratic candidates. And in North Carolina, the crypto industry boosted Tim Moore for a congressional race there, devoting more than $500,000 to the Republican speaker of the North Carolina House. Moore secured that nomination on Tuesday, and his seat is considered key to a shift toward more Republicans in the state's congressional delegation.