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Electorate in the US state of Virginia’s 11th congressional district will select a successor for deceased Representative Gerry Connolly in a special vote that might be swayed by finances from the cryptocurrency sector.
On Tuesday, citizens of Virginia who haven’t cast their votes early will head to the ballot boxes to determine if they will appoint Democrat James Walkinshaw or Republican Stewart Whitson to succeed Connolly after his passing in May while serving in the US Congress.
Although neither contender seemed to have adopted a robust stance on digital currencies or blockchain during the campaign, a cryptocurrency-supported political action committee (PAC) could still affect the result.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, the Protect Progress PAC, a branch of Fairshake, invested over $1 million on media placements in June to back Walkinshaw in the Democratic Party’s primary.
FEC records as of Tuesday indicated no other major financial contributions from the crypto sector, with Walkinshaw declaring over $1 million in campaign donations compared to Whitson’s approximately $224,000.
The Tuesday election could act as an indicator for how Fairshake and its affiliates plan to tackle US elections in 2025 and beyond after allocating over $130 million to elect “pro-crypto” officials or oppose “anti-crypto” ones in 2024.
Cointelegraph attempted to contact Fairshake and Walkinshaw’s campaign for a statement, but did not receive a reply by the time of publishing.
Related: Crypto companies spent $134M on 2024 US elections, raising concerns about influence
Numerous news organizations indicated that Walkinshaw was likely to prevail against Whitson in the district, recognized as a Democratic stronghold.
If he triumphs on Tuesday, the election would further tighten the Republicans’ majority in the US House of Representatives, possibly necessitating cooperation from Democrats to advance legislation.
2025 elections potentially shaped by cryptocurrency
Following its engagement in the 2024 elections, a Fairshake affiliate, Defend American Jobs, allocated over $1.5 million to support Republican candidates in elections for two Florida House seats. The candidates, Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine, both achieved victory in their April elections.
A similar narrative unfolds at the state and local levels. Individuals affiliated with various crypto firms donated a total of $4,000 for candidates in New Jersey’s gubernatorial primaries in June.
Some notable figures, such as Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, have also implied they might engage in the upcoming election for the next mayor of New York City, scheduled for November.
In a statement to Cointelegraph in July, a Fairshake spokesperson mentioned that the PAC could not “directly” involve itself in local and state elections in 2025. However, the committee disclosed in July that it possessed more than $141 million, which it aimed to utilize in future US federal elections, including the 2026 midterms.
If the PAC expends even more in 2026 than in 2024, the implications for party dominance of the House or Senate commencing in 2027 remain uncertain. Republicans, many of whom profited from Fairshake’s expenditures, currently hold a narrow majority in both chambers.
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