Crypto-backed PACs Spend $8M in New York, Maryland, Utah Primaries

Political action committees financed by cryptocurrency companies and aligned interest groups reported more than $8 million in spending to support candidates in Tuesday’s primary elections in New York, Maryland and Utah.

Protect Progress, an affiliate of Fairshake that backs Democratic candidates, disclosed spending of more than $516,000 on media for April McClain Delaney in Maryland’s 6th congressional district. Federal Election Commission filings show the committee reported roughly $5.5 million in expenditures supporting Adrian Boafo in Maryland’s 5th district and about $1.4 million to support Ritchie Torres in New York’s 15th district. The filings also list about $24,000 on ads opposing Quincy Bareebe and $74,000 on ads opposing Harry Dunn, both challengers to Boafo in the Maryland 5th primary.

Defend American Jobs, another Fairshake affiliate, disclosed more than $400,000 in spending on Republican Blake Moore’s primary campaign in Utah’s 2nd district. Fairshake previously reported spending more than $12 million on ads in an Alabama runoff that resulted in a victory for Republican Barry Moore; a Fairshake spokesperson called that effort “the biggest spend of the cycle,” and the PAC credited the ad buys with helping secure the win.

The Fellowship PAC, which received about $11 million in contributions from financial firms Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage, reported roughly $300,000 in media spending to support Torres in New York’s 15th district, according to disclosure documents.

Opponents in Maryland’s 5th reacted to the influx of outside funding. In a June 15 joint statement, Quincy Bareebe, Harry Dunn and Rushern Baker wrote: “We are calling on Governor Moore, Senator Alsobrooks, and Congressman Hoyer to answer directly: Do you support nearly $8 million in outside spending from crypto billionaires and AIPAC in a Maryland Democratic primary? If not, they should say so publicly and call on Adrian Boafo to reject it.”

As of Monday, the PACs had not reported significant expenditures in congressional primaries scheduled for Colorado on June 30 and Arizona on July 21. Campaign finance records show past activity by Fairshake and its affiliates in 2024, including more than $10 million in media supporting a Senate campaign in Arizona and about $2.1 million on behalf of a House candidate in Colorado’s 8th district.

Federal Election Commission filings and PAC disclosures show committees are using a mix of direct support for favored candidates and paid advertising against rivals, with funds routed into targeted media buys and opposition ads ahead of the general election cycle.