Crypto-Backed PAC Invests $2M in Florida Congressional Contest Despite Sparse Cryptocurrency Discussion
Protect Progress PAC invested over $2 million in advertising campaigns targeting Democratic contender Oliver Gilbert in Florida's 24th congressional district race before Tuesday's primary election.
A political action committee (PAC) associated with Fairshake, which receives its primary funding from Ripple Labs and Coinbase, has invested over $2 million in media campaigns targeting a Democratic contender who had not publicly established any notable stance on cryptocurrency policy prior to the advertisement launches.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings reviewed as of Tuesday reveal that Protect Progress PAC allocated more than $2 million toward advertising campaigns targeting Democratic contender Oliver Gilbert in the race for Florida's 24th congressional district. Significantly, none of the Democratic primary contenders had established a definitive position on cryptocurrency policy as a component of their campaign platforms prior to the PAC's intervention.
The Democratic contender seeks the congressional seat presently held by Representative Frederica Wilson, who voted in opposition to both the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act during her congressional tenure and has publicly endorsed Gilbert. Democratic candidate Shevrin Jones, a state senator from Florida who led Gilbert in polling conducted in early August, has filled out a Stand With Crypto questionnaire, which resulted in the advocacy organization awarding him a "strongly supports" designation.
Gilbert is reported to have stated that "[Donald] Trump's tech billionaire buddies" were responsible for the "crypto con artists trying to buy a Democratic primary" via the advertisements, which featured fabricated Miami Herald headlines that bore no connection to cryptocurrency policy matters. Wilson publicly endorsed Gilbert during a June 22 event. Cointelegraph contacted both Gilbert's campaign team and a Fairshake spokesperson seeking commentary but had not received an immediate reply.
Fairshake disclosed possessing a $193 million war chest in January, deploying these funds through associated entities such as Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs to back Democratic and Republican contenders, respectively, for contests in the 2026 midterm elections. By June, the PAC had already deployed over $82 million toward primaries and special elections with the goal of swaying voters via advertising campaigns.
Primary races to impact party control in 2027
On Tuesday, voters across Alaska, California, Florida and Wyoming will make determinations on congressional contenders who will compete in the November general election.
The Protect Progress PAC has additionally allocated more than $150,000 toward media campaigns backing the re-election campaign of Lois Frankel in Florida's 23rd district. Defend American Jobs disclosed a total of $1.5 million spent on advertising campaigns supporting Representative Nick Begich in Alaska's at-large congressional district, Republican contender Sydney Gruters in Florida's 16th district and Representative Harriet Hageman for one of Wyoming's US Senate seats.
The primary election results will establish whether Democrats regain control of both the US House of Representatives and Senate beginning with the upcoming congressional session in January, or whether Republicans maintain their majority status. Both legislative chambers are currently in recess through September, at which point the Senate is anticipated to conduct a vote on the CLARITY Act.