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Juliana Stratton defeated crypto-backed Raja Krishnamoorthi despite $10 million in PAC support.
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Fairshake failed to win the Senate race despite his heavy spending and aggressive attack ads.
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Crypto-backed candidate saw mixed results. They won smaller races, but lost key contests.
Despite heavy crypto-backed expenditure, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton defeated Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi in the Democratic Senate Primary.
Fairshake, a crypto super PAC, has contributed close to $10 million towards Krishnamoorthi’s campaign. The group spent more on attack ads against Stratton than on direct promotion.
Fairshake is known to back candidates in races that it believes it will win. This has helped it achieve a high success ratio in 2024.
Illinois is rated as a “Solid Democratic State”, meaning Stratton has now become the clear favorite for the general election in 2027 and to take the Senate seat.
Stratton wins with political backing, not crypto support
Stratton received the backing of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and ran as the progressive candidate amongst the top contenders. She beat out a field of 11 candidates including Krishnamoorthi, Representative Robin Kelly and others.
Her campaign centered on raising the federal wage to $25 and eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Krishnamoorthi, the runner-up, called for unity in the party after the results.
His campaign was not helped by his alignment with crypto. Stand With Crypto, a non-profit advocacy organization linked to Coinbase, gave him a “A” rating. Stratton, however, received an “F” for his limited engagement with crypto policies.
Mixed Results for Crypto PAC Influence
Fairshake’s strategy was mixed in Illinois. Three crypto-backed candidates, i.e. Donna Miller in Illinois 2nd District, Melissa Bean 8th and Nikki Budzinski 13th won their primaries.
The PAC spent about $560,000 to support Bean and less than $84,000 to support Budzinski. It also used affiliates to distribute funds. It failed in some key contests. Fairshake spent $2 million to defeat La Shawn Ford, but Ford won.
Crypto Capital still has a political advantage
Even in high-profile races, large spending does not guarantee results. The Illinois election result shows the limits to cryptocurrency in major elections. Even with $10,000,000 in backing, Krishnamoorthi was unable to overcome traditional political support or voter alignment.
Crypto groups are also expanding their influence. Fairshake continues to deploy its capital across the country and frames elections around innovation, regulation and technology.
The GENIUS Act of 2020 will push stablecoins to the core of the payment system, while Bitcoin is left outside of regulated payment rails.
Stablecoins account for 93.2% blockchain transaction volume with 217 millions monthly transactions, compared to Bitcoin’s 12 million.
Related: Australian Senate Committee Submits bill supporting crypto licensing
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