As the results of Super Tuesday races across the United States trickle in, some funding from several crypto-focused political action committees appears to be paying off.
Congressional candidates in Texas, California, North Carolina, Alabama, Indiana, and West Virginia are 11 from the crypto-powered super trio PACs Protect Progress, FairShake, and Defend American Jobs. Many have accepted the help over time and appear to be winning.
The money appears to have been used successfully, with FairShake in recent weeks running ads against Rep. Katie Porter in California's open primary for a U.S. Senate seat, according to Federal Election Commission filings. It spent more than $10.1 million on airtime.
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Porter, a Democrat, currently serves in the House of Representatives and was vying for the seat held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. She lost Tuesday's primary to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who will face Republican Steve Garvey in November.
“We are standing up for jobs and innovation in California,” a FairShake representative said last month regarding the multimillion-dollar pressure on Porter from television and digital media.
The pro-crypto Democratic super PAC Protect Progress spent about $1.7 million between late January and late February to support newcomer Shomali Figures, who advanced to Tuesday's runoff election, according to filings. Ta. Figures will face Democratic Alabama Rep. Anthony Daniels on April 16.
Figures, who has never previously held public office, evoked little sympathy from voters regarding his views on cryptocurrencies, except for a line on his campaign website in which he promised to “embrace the evolving landscape of digital assets.” There wasn't.
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Protect Progress also spent just under $1 million on advertising and airtime supporting Texas Rep. Julie Johnson, according to the filing. Julie Johnson ran Tuesday to take over the soon-to-be-vacated seat of Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas). In the US House of Representatives.
The Republican Party's crypto-focused effort, the “Defend American Jobs” super PAC, donates to most candidates and has spent about $4 million supporting four Republican senators in recent weeks. This was revealed in the submitted documents.
North Carolina Congressman Tim Moore, who currently serves as Speaker of the House, and Congressman John Bradford competed for separate seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in Tuesday's primaries.
Moore won and Bradford lost to Mark Harris. Harris previously faced controversy over her campaign's involvement in an alleged vote-harvesting scheme after her clear victory in the 2018 Congressional elections. A new election was eventually held, but Harris did not participate.
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Harris called the situation “manufactured” when she announced her new presidential bid last September.
Defend American Jobs spent more than $500,000 each on Moore and Bradford in February.
Looking to the future, Defend American Jobs has put money into primaries scheduled for May in West Virginia and Indiana.
The super PAC spent more than $1.5 million supporting Rep. James Banks (R-Ind.) until an Indiana Supreme Court ruling removed his only opponent from the ballot. Banks is currently running unopposed in the state's Republican primary on May 7th.
The American Jobs defender has an additional $1.5 million lead over West Virginia Governor and U.S. Senate candidate Jim Justice, who is scheduled to vote on May 18th.
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