Pro-crypto Super PAC is targeting Rep. Katie Porter in the California Senate race
The Fairfax Political Action Committee (PAC), which is backed by crypto organizations including Ripple and Coinbase, has released ads targeting United States Senate candidate Katie Porter.
According to a Feb. 13 post by AdImpact Politics, Fairshack spent $2.9 million as part of an ad campaign to attack Porter, who is running for California's two seats in the US Senate in 2024. Porter, a representative of the super PAC advertising space, said he campaigned. Donations from “big pharma, big oil and big bank executives.”
#CApol: Yesterday's Fairshack spending is attacking Katie Porter's Senate candidacy. Total ad buys are now at $2.9M. Here's the announcement⬇️ pic.twitter.com/bpEdGueGXG
— AdImpact Politics (@AdImpact_Pol) February 13, 2024
Porter, who currently serves as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 47th Congressional District, previously ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by Dianne Feinstein, who died in September 2023. California Governor Gavin Newsom nominated Lafonza Butler to fill Feinstein's seat. Her debut in January 2025.
Representative Porter was one of several members of the US Congress who signed a letter in October 2022 with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas requesting information on crypto miners' energy use and potential environmental impact. In February 2023, she signed a similar letter requesting information from the US Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Department.
It's unclear why the super PAC came out of the gate to target Rep. Porter. According to data from the government transparency group Open Secrets, Fairshack has raised more than $85 million and spent about $19 million since Dec. 31. Cointelegraph reached out to Fershek for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
In a February 13 post, Rep. Porter said:
“Californians don't get fooled: Shadowy crypto billionaires don't want a strong voice for consumers in the Senate. They fear people who speak out about corporate greed, so they're spending millions of dishonest dark money ads against me.”
I have proudly earned 100% on every @StopBigMoney/@LetAmericaVote scorecard since I joined Congress.
Americans must have representatives who will not accept corporate PAC money and call out corruption in Washington.
It's great to see more colleagues join the A+ Club this year! pic.twitter.com/wBFfqbXmhV
— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) February 13, 2024
RELATED: Crypto Voters May ‘Flip the Key' in 2024 US Elections: CCI Poll
In the year California's 2024 US Senate seat election will be held on November 5, with a special primary held on March 5. Rep. Porter is running against other Democratic candidates, including Rep. Adam Schiff. According to data from Ballotopedia, Porter and Schiff have raised about $25 million and $27 million for their campaigns as of Dec. 31, respectively.
The 2024 election is nine months away from the 435 seats in the US House of Representatives, 33 seats in the Senate and the presidency. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has estimated that crypto-oriented voters in California will play a “significant role” in the 2024 elections, with approximately 8.2 million people in the state holding digital assets.
Cointelegraph reached out to Rep. Porter's campaign but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
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