Registered voters in New Jersey are on the verge of selecting their party candidates for the upcoming 2025 gubernatorial contest, and stances on digital assets might sway the results.
On June 5, one Republican and two Democratic candidates for governor of New Jersey engaged with an audience of cryptocurrency enthusiasts during a rally arranged by the political advocacy organization Stand With Crypto. The gathering occurred just five days before New Jersey residents head to the polls for party primaries, with reports indicating that over 300,000 individuals have already voted.
“I believe, and the [state pension] board concurs, that cryptocurrency is a vital element of this nation’s future and the global economic framework,” expressed Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democratic candidate for governor, present at the event.
Stand With Crypto noted in March that over 60,000 individuals affiliated with the organization could significantly influence who becomes New Jersey’s next governor. The contest is anticipated to be remarkably tight in both the June party primaries and the November general election.
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Other participants at the crypto rally comprised Democratic Representative Josh Gottheimer and Republican radio personality Bill Spadea. The incumbent Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, cannot seek re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
“I endorse crypto,” stated Spadea during the rally. “More crucially, I endorse the entire idea of blockchain technology reforming and revitalizing our government.”
Crypto-backed campaigns for a 2024 repeat?
Individual crypto enthusiasts might have directly supported Spadea, Gottheimer, or Fulop for their respective campaigns in the June 10 primaries. Cointelegraph was unable to find state records detailing whether any cryptocurrency firms or industry-affiliated political action committees (PACs) had contributed to any of the three candidates’ campaigns.
A representative for Stand With Crypto mentioned that the organization’s PAC had yet to utilize any of its resources to support candidates in the New Jersey gubernatorial election, but may do so before November, when they also plan to endorse a candidate. The group established its PAC in May 2024 in anticipation of the US federal elections.
According to data from the Federal Election Commission, the cryptocurrency-supported PAC Fairshake and its related Protect Progress expended over $240,000 to back Gottheimer in his 2024 Democratic primary, and the candidate received support from numerous industry figures, including Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Cointelegraph reached out to Gottheimer’s campaign regarding cryptocurrency contributions for the governor’s election but had not received a reply by the time of publication.
The New Jersey gubernatorial race may serve as another indicator of how the crypto sector intends to approach US elections post-2024, when President Donald Trump and numerous pro-crypto Congressional members celebrated victories in their respective contests. An affiliate PAC of Fairshake called Defend American Jobs also allocated over $1.5 million to support two Republican candidates in special elections in April for Florida congressional positions.
Magazine: Crypto voters are already influencing the 2024 election — and it’s slated to persist
