Crypto-Backed Candidates Notch Wins in Three US State Primaries

Several Democrats and one Republican who were supported by more than $8 million worth of ads funded by cryptocurrency-aligned political action committees (PACs) won their respective US primaries on Tuesday, setting up their candidacies for the November election.

Party primaries for US House of Representatives and Senate candidates in Utah, Maryland and New York resulted in wins for many aligned with crypto industry interests. PACs like Fairshake and its affiliates, largely backed by crypto companies Coinbase and Ripple Labs, spent a combined $8 million on media to support the candidates it considered likely in favor of digital asset policies for the next session of Congress.

In New York, Democrat Ritchie Torres won a primary for the state’s 15th congressional district with 71.9% of the vote, while in Utah, Republican Blake Moore won in the 2nd district with 57.5% of the vote. Fairshake affiliate Protect Progress reported $5.5 million in expenditures to support Adrian Boafo, who won the Democratic primary for Maryland’s 5th district with 32% against other candidates who opposed “spending from crypto billionaires.” 

“We went big and we went early,” said Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter. “We did our part to move Adrian Boafo from fifth place to the halls of Congress.”

Source: The New York Times

Fairshake, which reported having “$150 million cash on hand” in June after its spending in several US state primaries, may have already influenced voters in key elections in its attempts to send candidates to Congress it considers to be “pro-crypto.” Other PACs aligned with crypto interests that have reported spending on 2026 candidates included Fellowship, backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, and the Blockchain Leadership Fund, a hybrid PAC backed by Anchorage and Chainlink Labs.

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Not every pro-crypto candidate emerged a winner on Tuesday. Alex Bores, a Democrat running in New York’s 12th District, lost to Micah Lasher. He criticized Bores in a June debate, saying that he potentially benefitted from Ripple Labs co-founder Chris Larsen spending $3.5 million to support his campaign.

Next primaries in Colorado and Arizona, but no reports of spending yet

Many expect Fairshake and other crypto-aligned PACs to turn their attention to candidates in Colorado and Arizona next. The two states are scheduled to hold primaries on June 30 and July 21, respectively, but Fairshake affiliates had not disclosed significant spending in any of the races as of Wednesday.

In 2024, the PAC and its affiliates poured more than $10 million into media to support Ruben Gallego’s Senate race in Arizona and $2.1 million for Democratic Representative Yadira Caraveo in Colorado’s 8th district. Gallego won his race, while Caraveo lost in the November 2024 election to Republican Gabe Evans.

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