McKinney says the crypto lobby is paying Thanedar back for supporting Trump-era crypto bills. Protect Progress PAC spent $1M on ads. The Michigan primary is Aug. 4.
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Donavan McKinney, challenging Michigan Representative Shri Thanedar in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary, said the crypto lobby was paying his opponent back for supporting friendly crypto bills. The accusation followed Federal Election Commission filings showing Protect Progress PAC, an affiliate of the crypto-aligned Fairshake, spent more than $986,000 on ads supporting Thanedar and opposing McKinney.
The spending mirrored Protect Progress' 2024 effort, when it put about $1 million behind Thanedar. He won that primary with 54.9% of the vote and the general election with 68.6%.
McKinney did not run in 2024 and has made no public statements for or against crypto. Thanedar voted for several crypto bills, including the CLARITY and GENIUS acts. He also lost more than $600,000 in the second quarter of 2026 after investing $3.7 million of campaign funds in crypto companies, according to reports.
Fairshake and its affiliates reported $191 million in their treasury for the 2026 election cycle. Other crypto-aligned PACs include Fellowship, backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, and the Blockchain Leadership Fund, a hybrid PAC supported by Anchorage and Chainlink Labs.
Protect Progress also spent more than $100,000 on ads backing Representative Greg Stanton in Arizona. Stanton won his primary on Tuesday with 65% of the vote. He also voted for the CLARITY and GENIUS acts.
In Washington state, Defend American Jobs PAC, another Fairshake affiliate, spent more than $65,000 to support Amanda McKinney, a Republican candidate in the state's 4th district. She has made public statements supporting crypto. Representative Dan Newhouse announced in 2025 he would not seek reelection.
The Michigan primary is Aug. 4. The winner will face Republican and other party challengers in November.
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