The Fairshake political action committee (PAC) and its affiliates are pouring more money to support candidates in congressional races as the 2024 United States election approaches.

According to a Sept. 5 filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Fairshake used more than $6.9 million for media buys and production to support candidates running for House seats in Colorado, North Carolina, Iowa, and Alaska. The expenditures included roughly $1.9 million for Democrat Mary Peltola in Alaska’s 1st Congressional District, $900,000 for Republican Zach Nunn in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, $2.2 million for Democrat Don Davis in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, and $1.9 million for Democrat Yadira Caraveo in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District.

The media buys were part of a strategy announced by the Super PAC in August to spend an average of $1 million across 18 targeted congressional districts. Most of the lawmakers and candidates have voted in favor of pro-crypto legislation while in Congress or cosponsored similar bills. Rep. Davis attended a virtual town hall event for crypto advocates supporting Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Source: Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo

The Fairshake filing followed the expenditures declared by its affiliate Protect Progress, which reported more than $6.7 million to support Senate candidates in Arizona and Michigan. The Super PAC, which primarily supports Democratic candidates, used roughly $3.5 million for a media buy favoring Representative Ruben Gallego in Arizona’s Senate race and $3.2 million for Representative Elissa Slotkin for the US Senate in Michigan. 

“We are seeing a broad bipartisan consensus behind crypto and blockchain as a critical component of the future economy,” said Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto in August. “We will continue to deploy our resources in support of leaders on both sides of the aisle and in both houses who are committed to getting things done and working with the industry to pass responsible regulation [...]”

Influencing US elections?

Fairshake and its affiliates previously targeted congressional candidates before party primaries, with their funds going toward ad buys to oppose anti-crypto lawmakers or support pro-crypto ones. However, many of the ad spots funded by the Super PAC have not explicitly mentioned crypto or blockchain and instead encouraged voters to oppose a candidate for other reasons.

The Super PAC and its affiliates reported raising more than $169 million from donors, including Ripple and Coinbase. However, other PACs, like the Commonwealth United Fund — which has received contributions from Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and other high-profile industry leaders — helped fund media buys supporting Republican Senate candidate John Deaton in Massachusetts. Deaton will face off against incumbent Senator Elizabeth Warren in November. 

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