Crypto PAC-backed candidates sweep state primaries, eye Maryland next

Democratic and Republican candidates across California, New Jersey, and South Dakota won their respective primaries on Tuesday, riding a wave of supportive ad buys from cryptocurrency industry-backed political action committees. Democrats Jacqui Irwin, Ted Lieu, Zoe Lofgren, Dave Min, Mike McGuire, Hilda Solis, George Whitesides, Lou Correa, and Lateefah Simon won their California House primaries. Democrat Rob Menendez and Republican Mike Rounds also won primaries for New Jersey's 8th congressional district and a South Dakota Senate seat, respectively.

Selection of results after Tuesday's primaries for California House seats. Source: CalMatters

The wins came after the Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs PACs spent roughly $3.5 million combined on media to back the candidates. Both outfits are affiliated with Fairshake, a super-PAC bankrolled largely by Coinbase and Ripple Labs that reported a $193 million war chest in January — a number that would make most DeFi treasuries blush.

The spending followed similar media buys for supportive candidates in last week's Texas runoff primaries, where Democrat Christian Menefee defeated incumbent US Representative Al Green and four Republican candidates prevailed in smaller House districts.

Many of the candidates in these state races have signaled support for advancing digital assets, either through votes on "pro-crypto" legislation like the GENIUS Act or in public statements. Related: PACs laud Texas primary wins, look to back more pro-crypto candidates

Maryland appears to be the next stop on the Fairshake affiliate tour. Federal Election Commission filings showed Protect Progress had spent more than $3.1 million as of Wednesday supporting Democratic candidate Adrian Boafo in Maryland's 5th Congressional district, which holds its primary on June 23. Cointelegraph requested comment from Fairshake but did not receive an immediate response.

On a related note, industry leaders on Wednesday announced the launch of Defend Developers, a hybrid PAC that will back "incumbent members of Congress who actively champion developer protections and crypto builders." The group's board of directors includes "CEOs, CLOs, and policy leaders at top crypto organizations, including DeFi Education Fund, Orca Creative, Solana Policy Institute, and Uniswap Labs."

"For too long, developers building decentralized technologies have faced regulatory uncertainty and enforcement actions instead of clear rules and guidelines," said the PAC's founder, Gavin Zavatone. "While legislation and rulemakings are being written as we speak, for some policymakers there is limited incentive to understand the fundamental nature of software development."

No official financial data was available for Defend Developers as of Wednesday. Source: FEC

The FEC portal showed no funding or expenditure activity. Nick Stoltzfus, co-CEO of on-chain student loan digital asset platform Stratofied, was listed as treasurer and custodian of records in the PAC's statement of organization filed May 15. The PAC did not specify where or how it would direct its efforts in the 2026 US midterms beyond "key races across the country." Cointelegraph reached out to Defend Developers for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

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