Fairshake Spends Big, Wins Most Congressional Primaries

Crypto super PAC Fairshake flexed its muscles in four out of five congressional primaries on Tuesday, but suffered a surprising loss in Florida's 24th district.

The group backed winners in Alaska, Wyoming, and two districts in Florida, with Protect Progress spending $1.5 million to support three Republicans, including Sydney Gruters, who won the primary in Florida's 16th district, and Representative Harriet Hageman, who took the Wyoming Senate race.

In contrast, Fairshake's affiliated PAC, Defend American Jobs, spent $3.6 million on primaries in Alaska, Florida, and Wyoming, with a significant portion going towards negative ads against Democrat Lois Frankel's opponent in Florida's 23rd district.

The only exception was the Florida's 24th district, where Protect Progress spent over $2 million on attack ads, but still lost to Oliver Gilbert. Gilbert accused 'crypto con artists trying to buy a Democratic primary' in his campaign, but made no mention of the ad campaign in his victory speech.

Fairshake has a significant war chest, with its network reporting $193 million as of January, largely from Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz. In the 2024 cycle, it spent more than $130 million to help elect friends and to defeat critics.