Protect Progress, a political action committee (PAC) affiliated with Fairshake and backed by crypto companies, has thrown at least $1.7M behind two Democratic candidates running for Congress in Arizona.
Cointelegraph reported on July 18 that Protect Progress disseminated more than $1.3 million in a media buy to support Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat competing for a seat representing Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District. In addition, a July 20 filing with the Federal Election Commission showed the Super PAC used roughly $415,000 as part of a media buy for Andrei Cherny, who is running in the state’s 1st Congressional District.
Unlike Arizona’s 3rd, which is one of the most Democratic districts in the state, the 1st is currently represented by Republican David Schweikert. Many political pundits also see Arizona as a swing state in the 2024 US Presidential Election. Both media buys came ahead of a July 30 primary for Democrats.
Cherny co-founded the financial firm Aspiration and served as its CEO until 2022. In 2021, his company partnered with NFT marketplace Curcio, bringing “greater sustainability to crypto,” according to the then-CEO. Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto said the Democratic candidate had “demonstrated support for crypto and digital assets.”
Competitive race
Six Democratic candidates, including Amish Shah, a former state representative, are running in the July 30 Arizona primary. In 2022, Shah voted against an Arizona House bill to clarify income tax issues around crypto and non-fungible tokens. A June poll from Noble Predictive Insights showed Shah neck and neck with Cherny.
According to Protect Progress’ website, the committee “supports Democratic candidates committed to securing the United States as the home to innovators building the next generation of the internet.” The group is affiliated with the Fairshake Super PAC, which funded attack ads against Democratic candidates in California and New York.
In April, Protect Progress spent roughly $3.7 million to support Democrats Shomari Figures in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District and Julie Johnson in Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. The two will face off against Republican candidates in their respective races in November.
A Fairshake spokesperson told Cointelegraph that, as of July 23, the PAC had raised roughly $169 million from firms including Coinbase and Ripple. As the Nov. 5 election approaches, it’s unclear which candidates the group will next focus its money and efforts on in the United States.
On the national stage, US President Joe Biden made headlines on July 21 for announcing over social media that he would not run for a second term. Democratic leaders have rallied behind Vice President Kamala Harris, now the presumptive party nominee.