The Fairshake group, a political action committee (PAC) backed by crypto firms like Ripple and Coinbase, has invested over $2 million in opposing the incumbent in the Democratic primary for New York’s 16th Congressional District.
Federal Election Commission data reveals that Fairshake spent more than $2 million on a media campaign against Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman’s reelection.
By June 16, outside interest groups had contributed approximately $9 million opposing Bowman, who is contending against Democrat George Latimer in the June 25 primary.
The Fairshake ad, which does not specifically mention crypto or blockchain, accused Rep. Bowman of spending his career “pushing dangerous conspiracy theories.”
In response to earlier opposition ads from another Super PAC, prominent Democratic lawmakers including Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Bowman’s reelection.
Congressional records show that Rep. Bowman voted against the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, and a resolution overturning a Securities and Exchange Commission rule on banks handling crypto.
Latimer, who was in the New York State Senate from 2013 to 2018, has rarely commented on digital assets.
Moe Vela, former Director of Administration for then-Vice President Biden, told Cointelegraph that such attacks were an “effective tool” to rally voters but encouraged PACs to focus on legislation rather than individual candidates.
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Fairshake declined to comment but stated: “Our focus continues to be on supporting candidates on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers who will stop playing politics and pass clear and responsible rules of the road.”
Fairshake’s influence on U.S. elections is notable. California Representative Katie Porter lost a primary race for the Senate in March after being targeted by a Super PAC ad that claimed she took campaign contributions from “big pharma, big oil, and big bank executives.”
Rep. Porter later said the crypto industry tried to “bury a conversation” on digital assets with the media buy.
With less than five months until Election Day in the United States, the crypto industry remains politically active. Coinbase, one of Fairshake’s original backers, donated another $25 million to the Super PAC in June, raising its total funds to roughly $160 million.
Crypto mining executives also launched a project to educate voters on Bitcoin and later influence U.S. elections.
Major party presidential candidates include U.S. President Joe Biden, Republican Donald Trump, Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Libertarian Chase Oliver.
Biden and Trump are scheduled for a televised debate on June 27 ahead of their official nominations.
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