Crypto Super Pac Wades Into Illinois House Primaries 

A crypto-funded super PAC is poised to shake up two Illinois Democratic House primaries with seven-figure ad buys targeting state lawmakers running for Congress who backed legislation that the industry opposes.

The super PAC, Fairshake, will spend at least $1 million each against Illinois state Rep. La Shawn Ford, who is running to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Danny Davis, and state Sen. Robert Peters, who is vying to succeed Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly as she runs for U.S. Senate.

The spending is among the first significant steps this year by the crypto super PAC and provides an early view into how it will deploy a $190 million war chest to defeat candidates deemed hostile to the industry's policy interests. The PAC network said last week that it will spend $1.5 million against Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who has been critical of the industry as a senior House Financial Services Committee member and now faces a competitive primary. A Fairshake affiliate is also backing Republican Rep. Barry Moore in his Alabama Senate primary race.

Both Ford and Peters voted for state-level crypto legislation imposing new rules on digital asset firms that became law last August. Peters — who is backed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a leading crypto critic — was a co-sponsor of the measure, which forces crypto companies to comply with a range of new consumer protection standards.

The super PAC said in a statement that the “legislators voted for and pushed draconian rules that would have led to a patchwork of state-by-state rules that kills American competitiveness and job creation and undermines consumer protections.”

Ford has been endorsed by Davis, who is retiring from Illinois’ 7th District seat. He is among the front-runners in the race, as Davis has been actively campaigning for him. The contest also includes Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who has benefited from an AIPAC-aligned super PAC.

Peters, a progressive, is locked in a competitive contest for the open 2nd district seat currently held by Kelly, who is running to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). The race includes former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who is the beneficiary of positive ads from a super PAC group funded by top artificial intelligence companies.

“The 2nd Congressional District is a historically majority Black seat, and outside Super PACs funded by Trump-aligned billionaires are dumping millions of dollars into this race to try to buy this seat and subvert the will of the electorate," Peters said through a spokesperson. "They’re all in for my opponent because he’s already shown that he can be bought—and I’ve made it clear that I can’t."

Ford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“State lawmakers looking to run for federal office should expect to be held accountable for their records,” Fairshake’s statement said. “The decision to push draconian rules against innovation at the state level will undermine competitiveness and job creation.”

Conyears-Ervin and Jackson have signaled they will support industry-friendly crypto policies in Congress. They both have A ratings from the industry-backed advocacy group Stand With Crypto, and Conyears-Ervin’s website says she will “encourage responsible investment through traditional and blockchain-based assets.” (Blockchain is the digital ledger technology behind crypto.)

The spending comes as the crypto industry is pushing Congress to pass a sweeping new law that would create new rules for crypto trading and help codify digital assets as mainstream financial products. The measure is currently stalled in the Senate amid a standoff between crypto firms and banks that has divided key lawmakers.

The crypto super PAC group, which operates independently from any campaign, is funded primarily by three firms: the crypto companies Coinbase and Ripple, along with the venture capital group Andreessen Horowitz.