James Baird Wins Indiana GOP Primary After $514K Crypto Ads

Representative James Baird won the Republican primary in Indiana’s 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, receiving more than 60% of the vote and defeating challenger Craig Haggard and others.

Federal Election Commission filings show the Defend American Jobs PAC paid about $514,000 for media buys supporting Baird. The PAC is affiliated with Fairshake, a political committee funded by several crypto companies. Fairshake reported holding $193 million in January.

A Fairshake spokesperson described Baird as ‘a proven leader for pro-job, pro-consumer, and pro-innovation policies in Congress.’ The committee and its backers spent heavily in the 2024 election cycle and have continued to finance media for candidates they view as favorable to the crypto sector.

Baird was first elected in November 2018 and has served in Congress since January 2019. He supported the GENIUS stablecoin act and the CLARITY Act, a market structure bill. He also received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump and reportedly thanked him after the primary.

Campaign finance records indicate Fairshake and its affiliates plan further spending on congressional contests. The committee has signaled plans to invest millions in support of pro-crypto candidates for the 2026 midterms and has directed funds to races in states including Illinois and Texas, where affiliates have spent about $10 million so far this year.

In the Senate, negotiators announced they had finalized text of the CLARITY Act to include a compromise on stablecoin yields. The Senate Banking Committee has not scheduled a markup on the bill. Some members of Congress have requested ethics provisions related to digital assets before a vote.

Baird will be the Republican nominee in the general election. Federal filings and public statements document continued spending by crypto-aligned committees on primary contests and other congressional races.