Crypto PAC-supported candidates sweep US state primaries after media buys

Nearly a dozen candidates across three US states won their primaries or will advance to the November election after they were supported by $3.5 million in ads funded by crypto industry-aligned PACs.

[Update (June 3 at 8:01 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a response from Fairshake in the fourth paragraph.]

Democratic and Republican candidates across California, New Jersey and South Dakota won their respective primaries on Tuesday after being the beneficiaries of supportive ads purchased by cryptocurrency industry-backed political action committees (PACs).

On Tuesday, Democrats Jacqui Irwin, Ted Lieu, Zoe Lofgren, Dave Min, Mike McGuire, Hilda Solis, George Whitesides, Lou Correa and Lateefah Simon won their respective California primaries for House seats. Democrat Rob Menendez and Republican Mike Rounds also won primaries for New Jersey’s 8th congressional district and a South Dakota Senate seat, respectively.