The crypto industry’s campaign finance giant, the Fairshake political action committee, backed the winners of a half-dozen Southern primaries on Tuesday, pumping millions of dollars into the races as one of the top spenders in the midterm congressional elections.
The super PAC deployed more than $20 million in political advertising in three states, primarily to Republican candidates seen as likely to win their areas in the November general election. So far this year, Fairshake — who in past election cycles helped attract dozens of pro-crypto candidates to Washington — has backed a long list of primary winners, although he has had some setbacks, most notably in the Illinois race in which he spent more than $10 million trying to defeat Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton en route to her Democratic primary victory in March.
Fairshake spent more than $7 million each in Tuesday’s Senate primaries in Alabama and Kentucky. He endorsed Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr in Kentucky to replace longtime Sen. Mitch McConnell, and Barr won that primary handily with more than 60 percent of the vote. In Alabama, the $7.4 million spent by Fairshake has yet to be resolved, as Rep. Barry Moore failed to surpass the 50% mark despite leading more than 13 percentage points over his closest competitor, so the crypto-backed candidate will face a runoff. “This powerful bipartisan mandate is heard across America, from Georgia to Alabama to Kentucky.”
In Georgia, the PAC focused on four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, including a Democratic primary in the district left vacant after the death of longtime Democratic Rep. David Scott. In the district, Fairshake endorsed Jasmine Clark, a Democratic lawmaker who topped a field in this week’s primary after securing $4.2 million in crypto ad spending.
Such spending far outpaced the campaign’s organic fundraising in this race, with crypto funds totaling more than was raised by all 10 Democratic candidates and far more than Clark’s $1.2 million brought in directly by his campaign.
Clark’s campaign included a statement in support of crypto technology, which has often been the case when Fairshake candidates have dedicated millions.
“We must reassert ourselves as a leader in emerging technologies – whether it’s AI, blockchain or cryptocurrencies – by working with experts to develop a smart, clear regulatory framework to help the industry grow and protect consumers from bad actors,” Clark’s campaign website said.
Across Georgia, Fairshake also invested smaller amounts in Republican primaries, supporting candidates Jim Kingston (who won with 52%), Houston Gaines (who won with 67%), and incumbent Rep. Clay Fuller (who previously won a special election in April to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene and won this week with 81%).
Super PACs buy their ads without consulting the campaigns they support, and Fairshake’s strategy has been to run ads designed to support or oppose candidates on the policy issues the committee considers most effective — almost never mentioning the issue of cryptocurrency.
