Scoop: “Political malpractice”: Crypto super PAC’s spending for Democrats sparks concerns
The main super PAC for crypto, Fairshake, is spending big in House and Senate races across the country for both Republicans and Democrats — befuddling industry insiders, who view Republican control of the U.S. Senate as the clear priority for the industry.
Republican operatives connected to crypto believe a Republican Senate serves two purposes for crypto: it can either speedily confirm President Donald Trump’s cabinet, financial regulators, and judicial nominees, or it can reject Vice President Kamala Harris’s poor picks for her cabinet and regulatory agencies.
While Republicans are glad that Fairshake is spending more than $10 million to defeat Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio), who is viewed as second only to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) in his hostility to the industry, many are concerned about its spending on behalf of Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D., Mich.) and Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.) in their respective Senate bids. Slotkin and Gallego victories would hamper the industry’s desire to see Republicans flip the chamber.
Although both Slotkin and Gallego now have “A” ratings from leading crypto position-ranking resource Stand With Crypto, some in the industry view the rating with skepticism. In March, Fairshake said it was looking into backing Slotkin in her primary — who, at that time, had an “F” rating.
Fairshake’s support for Slotkin and Gallego may be a bargaining chip to keep Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) at the table. Slotkin is running to succeed Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), the top Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, which has been weighing crypto regulation. In supporting Slotkin, Fairshake is opposing another longtime advocate of the crypto industry: former Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), who recently went so far as to layout his vision to “sav[e] crypto from Democrats.”
Sen. John Boozman (R., Ark.), who may chair the Agriculture Committee if Republicans win control in November, recently outlined his vision for the industry in an interview with the Reporter.
“We have jurisdiction [on the Agriculture Committee], because a lot of cryptocurrencies are not securities, they’re not money, they’re more like a commodity like gold,” he said. “And so the [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] has the commodities, and part of that is under Agriculture. We are working towards trying to get a bill together that the industry will accept, and that they can live with so they can continue to grow, that provides regulation.”
Some staffers are resigned to Fairshake maintaining its current spending levels on behalf of Slotkin and Gallego, even though their opponents, Rogers and Kari Lake, are viewed as allies to the industry. However, some tell the Reporter that the super PAC could alleviate ill will if it spent some of its largesse aiding Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania and Sam Brown, who first invested in Bitcoin almost 10 years ago, in Nevada.
Fairshake is spending in total over eight figures defending Democratic incumbents in top races. Fairshake made a roughly $1 million dollar investment backing Rep. Angie Craig (D., Minn.), who is facing Republican Joe Teirab. This district is on the outer edge of competitiveness, making it unlikely that Fairshake’s support will prove decisive. It might, however, complicate the PAC’s relationship with Rep. Tom Emmer (R., Minn.), who is seen as the staunchest supporter of crypto in the House. Teirab’s candidacy has been a priority for the House GOP Whip.
One source close to Emmer told the Reporter that “spending millions on Democrat members who oppose crypto and blockchain technologies in the hopes of appearing bipartisan is political malpractice.”
