Crypto PACs Spend $1.5M on FL, AK, WY Races After MI Setback

Two super PACs tied to the cryptocurrency industry spent more than $1.5 million on media campaigns in Florida, Alaska, and Wyoming ahead of the August 18 primaries. The spending came days after a high-profile primary loss in Michigan that showed even big money does not always swing a race.

Federal Election Commission filings show Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, both part of the Fairshake network, placed the ads in a concentrated push. In Alaska, Defend American Jobs put more than $500,000 behind Representative Nick Begich’s re-election. A similar amount went to Sydney Gruters in Florida’s 16th district. Another chunk backed Representative Harriet Hageman in Wyoming. Protect Progress also wrote a separate check: over $50,000 to support Lois Frankel in Florida’s 23rd district.

The candidate selection tracks voting records. Begich, Hageman, and Frankel all voted for the GENIUS Act and the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act – the CLARITY Act – while in Congress. Gruters has not made public crypto statements, but she signaled support through advocacy group questionnaires, which was enough to get the money.

Stand With Crypto, a separate advocacy group, rates candidates on their crypto positions. Its goal is to lock in market structure legislation during the 2026 Congress. The ratings shape where Fairshake’s affiliates direct dollars.

The Michigan loss is still fresh. Protect Progress backed Shri Thanedar in that primary, and he lost to State Representative Donavan McKinney. No amount of media spending guaranteed a win, and the Michigan result made that clear.

As of Thursday, the Senate had not confirmed whether it would vote on the CLARITY Act before its month-long recess. That uncertainty adds urgency to the PAC spending. If the bill does not move before recess, the window tightens, and the push to re-elect favorable incumbents becomes more calculated.

All 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats are up in 2026. How sitting lawmakers vote on crypto bills between now and November could determine whether they get PAC money – or face a well-funded opponent. The industry has made its priorities clear, and the financial backing follows voting records with mechanical consistency.

The CLARITY Act would establish a framework for digital asset market structure, a question that has been murky for years. Exchanges, token issuers, and protocol developers have operated in a legal gray zone while Congress debated SEC and CFTC jurisdiction. Legislation that settles that question is worth a lot to the industry. Worth, apparently, $1.5 million in a single spending round, and that is just what has been reported so far.

The Michigan result shows crypto PAC money has limits. Thanedar lost despite the backing, and McKinney won a district where crypto spending did not move the needle. But the PACs are not pulling back. The Florida-Alaska-Wyoming round looks like a recalibration – pick candidates with stronger positions, tighter districts, and clearer voting records on the legislation that matters.

Gruters is still an open question. She is the one candidate in this batch without a public crypto stance on record. Whether she becomes a vocal supporter of the CLARITY Act or stays quiet probably depends on the primary outcome and what follows.

Frankel’s $50,000 support is notably smaller than the $500,000-plus going to Begich, Hageman, and Gruters. No explanation for the gap was disclosed.

Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress reported spending over $1.5 million combined on media campaigns across those three states ahead of the August 18 primaries.