Crypto Candidate in Arizona Is Winning (So Far) Despite Sen. Warren’s Headwinds

But
the
race
between
Democrats
Ansari
and
Raquel
Terán,
who’d
been
endorsed
by
leading
crypto
critic
Warren,
has
come
down
to
a
67-vote
gap
almost
a
week
after
that
state’s
elections,
and
Ansari’s
lead
has
narrowed
each
time
a
new
batch
was
tallied.
Wider
Maricopa
County,
which
includes
the
3rd
district,
still
has
an
estimated

2,089
ballots
to
count,
according
to
the
secretary
of
state’s
office,
and
the
current
margin
of
less
than
0.2%
in
Arizona’s
3rd
Congressional
District
is
well
below
the
half-percent
threshold
required
for
an
automatic
recount.

Even
if
Ansari
wins
the
first
tally,
she’d
likely
have
to
await
a
formal
recount
to
make
it
official.

Ansari’s
campaign
saw
about
$1.4
million
in
crypto
political
action
committee
(PAC)
spending
that
either
supported
her
or
opposed
Terán,
according
to
a
PAC
spokesman.
Ansari,
who
had
signed
a
recent
letter
to
the
Democratic
National
Committee
in
which
lawmakers
and
candidates
requested
the
party
platform
include
a
pro-crypto
stance,
has
so
far
claimed
about
44.6%
of
the
vote
against
Terán’s
44.5%
in
a
district
that
would
tend
to
favor
a
Democrat
in
November’s
general
elections.

The
Fairshake
super
PAC
and
its
affiliates
generally
purchase
ads
that
support
industry-favoring
candidates
without
being
directly
approved
by
those
candidates,
and
Fairshake
has
quickly
become
one
of
the
country’s
largest
PACs.
This
approach
to
“independent
expenditures”
allows
the
crypto
sector
and
other
industries
to
devote
unlimited
money
to
political
contests
under
U.S.
campaign-finance
laws.
In
Ansari’s
case,
the
spending
amounted
to
about
$74
for
each
of
the
votes
in
her
column.

Fairshake
spokesman
Josh
Vlasto
declined
to
comment
on
the
Arizona
race,
because
the
result
isn’t
yet
official.

Ansari’s
own
campaign
netted
a
comparative
$1.9
million
in
direct
donations,
according
to
Federal
Election
Commission
disclosures,
suggesting
that
Fairshake’s
similar
spending
level
may
have
had
a
significant
impact
on
the
race.
Whether
it
did
or
not,
the
candidate’s
opponent

lashed
out
at
Ansari
for
taking
outside
money
from
crypto
interests.
That
support
included
ads
from
a
PAC
affiliated
with
Fairshake
and
also
direct
donations
from
Cameron
and
Tyler
Winklevoss.
Though
some

polling
conducted
as
recently
as
April
showed
Terán
with
an
advantage,
the
close
race
favors
Ansari
at
this
point.

This
is
not
the
first
time
crypto
support
has
been
raised
as
a
contentious
campaign
issue.
Such
accusations
came
up,
too,
in

Shomari
Figures’
similar
win
in
Alabama
and
in
the
Senate
primary
defeat
for
Rep.
Katie
Porter
(D-Calif.).
But
voters
haven’t
apparently
been
moved
by
worries
about
crypto-sector
influence.

The
industry
took
two
losses
in
Arizona,
too,
for
candidates
Fairshake’s
affiliate
PACs
supported.
The
PAC
had
backed
Andrei
Cherny
in
the
Arizona
1st
District
Democratic
primary,
but
he
placed
second
in
a
crowded
field.
And
it
spent
almost
$600,000
on
Republican
Blake
Masters
in
the
8th
Congressional
District
contest,
where
the
former
Arizona
Senate
candidate
similarly

came
in
second
among
several
candidates.

Digital
assets
interests
have
already
seen
more
than
20
favored
candidates
win
primary
elections
this
year,
potentially
including
Ansari.
While
crypto
legislation
hasn’t
yet
cleared
the
current
Congress,
next
year’s
session
will
include
a
larger
number
of
potentially
supportive
members
in
the
House
of
Representatives
and
Senate.

U.S.
congressional
primaries
are

in
their
final
days,
with
the
last
few
states
finishing
this
week,
meaning
the
towering
crypto
industry
PAC
will
soon
shift
to
the
general
election.
Vlasto
declined
to
comment
on
what
Fairshake
will
do
on
the
road
to
November.