Crypto PAC Spent Millions to Get Alabama Candidate on Path Toward Congress

Shomari Figures, a seasoned Washington political figure with a strong progressive background, didn’t raise the most funds in direct donations during his campaign for a seat in Alabama’s U.S. House of Representatives. However, he impressed voters and secured an impressive 61% of the votes in this week’s Democratic primary runoff, outshining other candidates despite not leading in fundraising.

Figures might have had an edge over his rivals due to $2.7 million in hidden financial aid from Protect Progress, a political action committee aligned with the cryptocurrency sector. He received this assistance because of his pro-crypto stance, which is classified as unofficial campaign expenditures in campaign finance jargar.

“Shomari advocates for collaboration to foster innovation and generate well-paying jobs for his community and Americans as a whole,” Josh Vlasto, Protect Progress spokesperson and affiliate industry PACs representative, declared on Wednesday. “We are pleased to back Shomari, regardless of party affiliation.”

Individuals who held positions in Barack Obama’s previous White House and previously collaborated with current Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), expressed on his campaign site that they intend to welcome the evolving digital asset terrain, including cryptocurrencies, to foster innovation and technological progress.

Protect Progress PAC, a subsidiary of Fairshake, the major crypto industry group, felt compelled to heavily fund dark-money ads against him in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District due to his challenge in this newly Democrat-leaning district, previously held by Republicans. Figures’ campaign raised approximately $400,000 in direct contributions, according to the Federal Election Commission reports. This amount was less than his opponent, Minority Leader Anthony Daniels of the Alabama House of Representatives, and there were no substantial PAC donations reported for Figures during this race.

According to the committee’s organizers, the industry spent a record-breaking $2.7 million. This is the most significant amount spent by the Super PAC to date, backing a Democratic congressional candidate. Approximately one million dollars were allocated for Texas Democrat Julie Johnson. Typically, Super PACs utilize their so-called “dark money” for campaign advertisements but are prohibited from directly coordinating with the campaigns.

Progress and Fairshake have strong support from notable figures in the digital asset sector, such as Ripple Labs, Coinbase, Marc Andreessen, and Ben Horowitz. Contrary to the previous congressional elections where massive spending came from ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, this election cycle has seen a more targeted approach towards funding crypto-friendly politicians. The list includes both established incumbents and newcomers who are openly supportive of the industry.