Crypto PAC Spends $700K to Back GOP Candidates in Florida

Two Republican candidates, Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine, have emerged victorious in their respective congressional primaries for a special election in Florida, with significant financial backing from a cryptocurrency-backed political action committee (PAC).

The Defend American Jobs PAC, an affiliate of Fairshake, spent over $700,000 to support Patronis' and Fine's campaigns in the Jan. 28 primaries for the state's 1st and 6th congressional districts. The PAC's expenditures included media buys to promote the candidates' campaigns. According to Federal Election Commission filings, Defend American Jobs spent over $500,000 on media buys supporting Fine and $200,000 on Patronis.

The Florida congressional districts have been represented by Republicans for roughly 30 years. The PAC tended to support Republican candidates, while another Fairshake affiliate, Protect Progress, spent millions of dollars to support Democratic candidates in the 2024 election. The expenditures represented the first efforts by a crypto industry-backed PAC to influence elections going into 2025 and beyond.

Fairshake, supported primarily by contributions from Ripple Labs and Coinbase, reported raising $103 million to be used for candidates in the 2026 US midterms. In a statement, Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto said, "We were proud to support both candidates with TV ad campaigns. The industry looks forward to collaborating with them and the hundreds of members on both sides of the aisle committed to working together to pass responsible regulation."

Florida officials were forced to hold the special election after 1st District Representative Matt Gaetz resigned his seat amid allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use, and 6th District Representative Mike Waltz left to become US President Donald Trump's national security adviser. Residents will vote on whether to send Patronis and Fine to the House in an April 1 election.

If the two Republicans defeat their Democratic challengers — Gay Valimont in the 1st and Josh Weil in the 6th — it could widen the Republican Party's majority control of the House of Representatives, potentially impacting legislation affecting all areas, including digital assets. Lawmakers in the Senate are likely to consider whether to introduce a crypto market structure bill sometime in 2025.