Crypto PAC spends $362K on California race already decided in August
Protect Progress, a political action committee linked to the crypto industry, reported spending $362,000 on advertising for a California congressional candidate who already won her seat in August.
A political action committee, or PAC, is a group that raises money to support or oppose political candidates. Protect Progress is an affiliate of Fairshake, a super PAC funded in large part by crypto companies.
The money went to media supporting Democratic Representative Aisha Wahab in California's 14th congressional district, according to a Sunday filing with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC).
What the FEC filing shows
- Protect Progress reported spending $362,000 on media supporting Wahab.
- The filing was made with the FEC and reported on Sunday.
- The ads target the Bay Area district race against Melissa Hernandez, a member of the same party.
- Wahab defeated Hernandez in a special election on Aug. 18, winning more than 53% of the vote.
Why the spending drew attention
The August special election decided who would serve out the remainder of Democrat Eric Swalwell's term, which ends in January 2027. Swalwell resigned in April amid sexual assault allegations. Because Wahab already won that contest, the new spending in the November midterms has raised questions about the purpose of the ads.
Both Wahab and Hernandez told the digital asset organization Stand With Crypto that they "strongly support crypto" in questionnaires completed before the August election, according to the report.
Cointelegraph said it contacted the Hernandez and Wahab campaigns and Fairshake for comment on the spending but did not receive immediate responses. That means the reason for the ads has not been confirmed by any of the parties involved.
Wahab's comments on PAC spending
In an Oct. 7 debate, Wahab signaled that she opposed Hernandez for not denouncing spending from corporate PACs aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), adding that the spending "really deteriorated our democracy."
Fairshake's growing role in 2026 races
Fairshake launched in 2023, backed largely by contributions from Coinbase, Ripple Labs and Andreessen Horowitz. Since the 2024 US elections, the super PAC has spent tens of millions of dollars on candidates it considers "pro-crypto," aiming to fill Congress with lawmakers more likely to support policies favorable to the digital asset industry.
The group reported in January that it had $193 million in cash on hand ahead of the elections, and it had already used tens of millions of dollars in primaries and special elections.
With just over two weeks until the 2026 election, Fairshake reported additional media spending in Senate races in Ohio and Nebraska:
- Defend American Jobs, a Fairshake affiliate that largely supports Republican candidates, reported spending more than $6.7 million to oppose Independent candidate Dan Osborn in Nebraska's Senate race.
- The PAC reported $8 million on media in Ohio supporting incumbent Republican Jon Husted against Democrat Sherrod Brown. It has spent more than $46 million on that race so far.
Brown lost his Senate seat to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024. Before that, Fairshake and other interest groups spent a combined hundreds of millions of dollars on ads opposing Brown, according to the report.
District boundaries will change
One difference between the August special election and the November midterms is the shape of California's 14th district. The current boundaries, which include parts of San Francisco's East Bay, will be expanded under the state's Proposition 50, passed in 2025, which requires new maps for the midterm elections.
What is confirmed
Confirmed details include the $362,000 FEC-reported media spend by Protect Progress, Wahab's Aug. 18 special election win with more than 53% of the vote, her scheduled November rematch with Hernandez, the coming district boundary changes, and the reported spending figures for the Ohio and Nebraska Senate races.
What is still unclear
The reason the crypto-linked PAC is spending on a race already decided in August has not been confirmed. Neither campaign nor Fairshake had responded to requests for comment when the report was published.
Why it matters
The spending is part of a wider effort by crypto-backed groups to influence which lawmakers sit in Congress, since those lawmakers may vote on rules affecting digital assets. Fairshake's spending in Ohio has been described as a possible indicator of how much the crypto industry can affect the 2026 midterms.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.