Representative Summer Lee criticized crypto-backed Super PACs funding media Buys that may have contributed to the loss of two Democratic lawmakers in their primaries.
Pennsylvania Representative Summer Lee strongly criticized crypto-backed political action committees (PACs) for financing ads that “demonize” candidates in the 2024 primaries, often unrelated to digital assets.
During an Oct. 24 virtual event hosted by Public Citizen and Americans for Financial Reform, Rep. Lee condemned the “influence and control” exerted by crypto Super PACs on lawmakers seeking reelection in 2024.
She claimed that funds from the digital asset sector were being used to “silence the few representatives actually fighting to hold them accountable.” Lee said,
“[Y]ou can distort the conversation if you have enough money,” pointing to how crypto PACs spent more than $3 million to try and unseat Representatives Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman. She described both Bush, a nurse, and Bowman, a principal, as “some of the most important voices in Congress.”
She continued: “It’s about keeping regular people out and letting the big players take over, and crypto knows this. They know regular people can’t go up, against, over $134 million in spending in one cycle. They’re exploiting the system, and they’re obscuring what their actual interests are in these races.”
Rep. Lee referenced actions by the Fairshake PAC, which funded media campaigns opposing Bowman and Bush. Both lost their primaries in June and August after the crypto PAC funneled over $3 million combined into the races.
After Rep. Bush’s primary loss in August, Fairshake’s Josh Vlasto labeled her as an “anti-crypto, Elizabeth Warren-endorsed lawmaker,” hinting that the crypto industry would back candidates who support its interests.
“What we’re arguing is not that folks, industries, interests shouldn’t have a say in our democracy,” Rep. Lee said about crypto and other interest groups. “What we’re saying is that they shouldn’t have the loudest say. They shouldn’t have an outsized say.”
At the Permissionless conference on Oct. 10, Texas Blockchain Council President Lee Bratcher remarked to Cointelegraph that crypto PACs and industry leaders funding campaigns is just “a function of how democracy works.”
He explained, “If you want to educate someone, you have to have time to do that. To get time to do that, you have to be a big part of their campaign.”
As the U.S. election draws near, crypto Super PACs continue to report significant expenditures. Fairshake and its affiliate Defend American Jobs disclosed to the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 17 that they spent $1.3 million supporting candidates in five U.S. states, with Election Day approaching on Nov. 5.
Additionally, Fairshake has spent over $1.8 million to back California Representative Young Kim and more than $800,000 supporting Texas Representative Monica De La Cruz Hernandez.
Meanwhile, Protect Progress, another Fairshake affiliate, has funded media campaigns supporting Virginia Representative Suhas Subramanyam and California Representative Rohit Khanna.
Although these media buys mainly focus on congressional races, the U.S. presidential contest between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump is not off-limits.
In October, the Bitcoin Voter PAC ran ads endorsing Trump and Senate candidates in Texas and Pennsylvania.
