{
  "id": 236898,
  "title": "Following primary loss, crypto PACs invest $1.5M in 3 US state races",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/following-primary-loss-crypto-pacs-invest-1-5m-in-3-us-state-races",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-06T21:11:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Cointelegraph",
    "slug": "cointelegraph",
    "url": "https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-pac-florida-alaska-wyoming-primary-races"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Following their primary loss in Michigan, two cryptocurrency-backed political action committees (PACs) Funshake's Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress have allocated over $1.5 million to media advertisements supporting House and Senate candidates in Florida, Alaska, and Wyoming. The groups invested in candidates who voted in favor of the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act while in Congress. In Alaska's at-large congressional district, Defend American Jobs spent over $500,000 supporting Representative Nick Begich's re-election. In Florida's 16th district, the group backed Republican candidate Sydney Gruters with a similar investment. Representative Harriet Hageman, running for the vacant Wyoming Senate seat now held by Cynthia Lummis, also received funding from the PAC. Both states will hold primaries on August 18. The reported spending comes after a primary defeat for a Protect Progress-supported candidate in Michigan's 13th Congressional District, where Democratic incumbent Shri Thanedar lost to State Representative Donavan McKinney after receiving over $2 million in media support from the Super PAC.",
  "summary": "Two crypto PACs, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, have invested over $1.5 million in media advertisements for four House and Senate races in Florida, Alaska, and Wyoming following a primary loss in Michigan. These PACs are affiliated with the cryptocurrency-backed political action committee Fairshake. The spending includes over $500,000 in Alaska for Representative Nick Begich's re-election and about the same amount in Florida for Republican candidate Sydney Gruters in the 16th district. Additionally, $50,000 was spent on re-electing Democratic candidate Lois Frankel in Florida's 23rd district. These expenditures come after a primary loss for Protect Progress-supported candidate Shri Thanedar in Michigan's 13th Congressional District. The CLARITY Act, supported by these candidates, is a crypto market structure bill.",
  "key_points": [],
  "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."
}