The newest pro-crypto faces on Capitol Hill

While none of the big three crypto super political action committees (PACs) — Fairshake, Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs — donated to a US presidential candidate, they did support several congressional efforts. 

As election results continue to trickle in, there are some fresh faces headed to Washington in January and many of them have the crypto industry to thank. 

Jim Justice 

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice on Tuesday defeated Democratic challenger Glenn Elliot to take West Virginia’s open US Senate seat, earning about 68% of the vote. 

Defend American Jobs spent more than $3 million supporting Justice. The Senator-elect has said he supports a crypto market structure that allows for innovation while also protecting investors. 

Julie Johnson 

Johnson, a state representative in Texas, on Tuesday defeated Republican challenger Darrell Day to win a seat in the US House for Texas’s 32nd district. 

Protect Progress, the Democratic effort in the Fairshake Super PAC trio, spent almost $1 million supporting Johnson. 

Johnson voiced support for crypto during the campaign, writing on her website that she hopes to “establish clear rules of the road for the crypto industry to build technology that benefits everyday Americans.” 

Bernie Moreno 

Republican challenger Bernie Moreno narrowly defeated sitting US Senator Sherrod Brown in a narrow race Tuesday, winning 50.2% of the vote. 

Brown, the current chair of the Senate Banking Committee, has largely been seen by the crypto industry as an adversary. He voted against the resolution that sought to overturn the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s SAB 121 accounting guidance, which passed both chambers with bipartisan support before ultimately being vetoed by President Biden. 

Defend American Jobs spent more than $34 million supporting Moreno through the end of October, federal filings show.

Adam Schiff 

Democrat US Representative Adam Schiff will make his way to the Senate next year after defeating Republican challenger Steve Garvey 57% to 42%, as of Wednesday afternoon. 

Schiff received support from the crypto industry during the Democratic primary after crypto super PAC Fairshake spent more than $10 million opposing his then-opponent Rep. Katie Porter. 

Schiff has an A rating from nonprofit Stand With Crypto, despite, like Sen. Brown, not voting in favor of the House resolution which sought to overturn the SEC’s SAB 121 accounting guidance. He did vote in favor of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act. 

John Curtis 

He’s also not a new face to the Hill, but John Curtis will be making a move from the House to the Senate. Rep. Curtis defeated Democratic challenger Caroline Gleich 62% to 32% to take Mitt Romney’s vacant Utah seat. 

The Defend American Jobs PAC (part of the Fairshake Super PAC trio) donated $1.9 million to Curtis’s campaign as of mid-October, making up almost 35% of the representative’s total contributions. Curtis co-sponsored the FIT21 and Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act bills in the House this session.

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