USA24 June, 20263 min read
Crypto PACs Back Adrian Boafo, Ritchie Torres, Blake Moore in Maryland, New York, Utah Primaries
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Adrian Boafo won Maryland's 5th District Democratic primary with crypto PAC support. Crypto-backed candidates secured wins in Utah, Maryland, and New York primaries.
Crypto PACs win primaries
Crypto-backed candidates won primaries in Maryland, New York and Utah after cryptocurrency-aligned political action committees (PACs) spent more than $8 million on ads, setting up their candidacies for the November election. In Maryland’s 5th Congressional District, Maryland State Delegate Adrian Boafo secured the Democratic nomination, with Protect Progress—an affiliate of Fairshake—reporting $5.5 million in expenditures to support his primary bid. In New York, Democrat Ritchie Torres won a primary for the state’s 15th congressional district with 71.9% of the vote, while in Utah, Republican Blake Moore won in the 2nd district with 57.5% of the vote.
Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter said, "We went big and we went early," describing the effort to move Adrian Boafo from fifth place to the halls of Congress. The spending was framed as support for candidates aligned with digital asset policy for the next session of Congress, with Fairshake and its affiliates backed by crypto companies including Coinbase and Ripple Labs.
Money, cash on hand
Fairshake’s reported financial position was cited as part of the influence campaign, with the group described as having "$150 million cash on hand" in June after its spending in several US state primaries. The same coverage said Fairshake may have already influenced voters in key elections as it attempted to send candidates to Congress it considers "pro-crypto." In the Maryland contest, Protect Progress spending drew attention as outside spending became a central issue in the final weeks of the campaign, with Maryland Matters reported that outside groups spent about $8.8 million supporting Boafo as of June 3.
Fox News framed the outcome as a defeat for a Pelosi-backed Democrat, saying Boafo emerged from a crowded Democratic primary Tuesday to clinch the nomination for former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s deep-blue Maryland seat. Fox News also reported that Protect Progress and the United Democracy Project—an outside spending group linked to AIPAC—spent more than $10 million to support Boafo’s candidacy, while the Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ called the race Tuesday night.
Next races and policy
Crypto PAC spending was also linked to future congressional composition and cryptocurrency policy debates, with one report saying the outcome could influence the composition of the US Congress and future cryptocurrency policy debates. The same coverage said Protect Progress reported spending more than US$5.5 million on behalf of Adrian Boafo in Maryland's 5th congressional district and more than US$1.4 million supporting Ritchie Torres in New York's 15th district. In Utah, Fairshake affiliates spent more than US$400,000 supporting Republican Blake Moore in Utah's 2nd congressional district, while the report also pointed to a separate Alabama primary runoff in which Fairshake reportedly spent more than US$12 million supporting Republican Barry Moore.
Looking ahead, the report said political observers expect crypto-backed groups to shift attention toward upcoming primary elections in Colorado and Arizona, where similar spending campaigns were conducted during the 2024 election cycle. A separate account said the next primaries in Colorado and Arizona were scheduled for June 30 and July 21, respectively, and that Fairshake affiliates had not disclosed significant spending in any of the races as of Wednesday.