Crypto super PAC notches wins in House, Senate races

WASHINGTON — A super PAC bankrolled by top cryptocurrency companies notched several wins Tuesday night in congressional primaries, the latest in a series of victories by the newest big player in American election financing.

Fairshake PAC, which supports candidates across the political spectrum whose positions align with the crypto industry’s, will enter the general election campaign season with more than $100 million that it plans to spend to elect pro-crypto lawmakers to the House and Senate.

On Tuesday, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., lost his primary to Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Bowman’s loss was due in part to his vocal criticisms of Israel. Yet crypto’s Fairshake PAC also got into the race and spent $2 million to air an ad critical of Bowman.

Fairshake and its two affiliated political action committees, one for Republicans, one for Democrats, quietly racked up half a dozen other wins Tuesday as the candidates they backed glided to victory, although none of the races were competitive. They included Rep. John Curtis, who won the Republican nomination for Utah’s open Senate seat.

Created last year as part of a joint effort between more than a dozen crypto firms, Fairshake PAC has emerged as one of the top-spending PACs in the 2024 election cycle.

Fairshake and its two affiliated PACs have put more than $37 million so far into advertisements in primary races, according to AdImpact.

Despite a broad mission to defend the entire $2.2 trillion crypto market, Fairshake is funded by a very small set of donors.

Of the $160 million in total contributions Fairshake has raised since it was founded, around $155 million — or 94% — can be traced back to just four companies: Ripple, Andreesen Horowitz, Coinbase and Jump Crypto.

But it’s not just money that the crypto industry plans to deploy this fall. The nonprofit Stand With Crypto says it has collected more than 1.1 million email addresses of crypto “advocates” it hopes to engage all the way to the ballot box.

The strength of the crypto groups is getting noticed on Capitol Hill, especially among lawmakers who are facing tough elections in 2025, where a few thousand voters, or a hefty donation, could make a difference in not only a race but in which party controls each chamber.  

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said this is a “defining moment” for crypto and it’s made a difference to have an “organized, cohesive effort around Fairshake.”

“This is an industry that has been behind in Washington and really has been on the defensive,” Garlinghouse told CNBC.

The effort is also meant to…