{
  "id": 1787814,
  "title": "Ripple- and Coinbase-funded PAC spends $2M in Florida race with little mention of crypto",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/ripple-and-coinbase-funded-pac-spends-2m-in-florida-race-with-little",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-18T19:54:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Cointelegraph",
    "slug": "cointelegraph",
    "url": "https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-pac-ads-florida-congress-spending"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Florida representative who voted against two recent acts related to digital assets has endorsed a Democratic candidate in a congressional race. This endorsement may lead to negative advertisements funded by an affiliate of the political action committee (PAC) Fairshake. The affiliate, Protect Progress PAC, has spent over $2 million in media ads opposing Democratic candidate Oliver Gilbert in Florida's 24th congressional district. Gilbert, who was initially ahead in polls, reportedly accused \"Donald Trump’s tech billionaire buddies\" of funding the ads. The Democratic candidate running for the seat currently held by Representative Frederica Wilson is Shevrin Jones, a Florida state senator. Jones completed a questionnaire with Stand With Crypto and earned a \"strongly supports\" rating from the advocacy organization. The Protect Progress PAC, funded primarily by Coinbase and Ripple Labs, has a $193 million war chest and has already spent more than $82 million on primaries and special elections.",
  "summary": "A Florida representative not running for reelection who voted against the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts has endorsed a Democratic candidate, possibly leading to PAC-funded negative ads.",
  "key_points": [
    "Protect Progress PAC spends $2M in Florida race",
    "Crypto-affiliated PAC backs Democratic candidate",
    "Coinbase and Ripple Labs fund the PAC"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}