A Super PAC network funded by the crypto industry is poised to back two Republican candidates for the United States House of Representatives in Florida’s April 1 special elections, according to a March 21 report by Politico.
The network includes Fairshake, Defend American Jobs, and Protect Progress.
Defend American Jobs will start the spending by airing a $1.2 million ad for Florida State Senator Randy Fine, who aims to replace former representative Michael Waltz, who resigned his House seat to become US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser. “Floridians want crypto innovation!” Fine posted on X on Jan. 14, while also highlighting the need for “clear rules of the road.”
Defend American Jobs is also spending $345,000 to support Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis in his quest to replace former representative Matt Gaetz. Gaetz resigned his House seat after Trump nominated him to become US attorney general, for which he later withdrew his name from consideration.
As Florida’s chief financial officer, Patronis wrote a letter to the State Board of Administration requesting a report on the feasibility of devoting part of the state’s retirement monies to investing in digital assets.
Overall, there are four vacancies in the US House of Representatives, with two of the vacancies in Florida. If the Democrats were to sweep all four spots, the result would be just a one-person advantage for the GOP in the House, a very slim margin.
Defend American Jobs backed Fine and Patronis in primaries
As Cointelegraph reported in January, crypto-funded Defend American Jobs backed Fine and Patronis during the primaries to select the nominees in the special elections. According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, Defend American Jobs spent more than $500,000 supporting Fine and $200,000 backing Patronis. The two candidates won their primaries in the state’s 6th and 1st congressional districts, respectively.
While Fairshake gets much of the attention in the crypto PAC world, Defend American Jobs also spends millions of dollars supporting crypto candidates. According to OpenSecrets, the PAC raised and spent around $60 million from 2023 to 2024. The PAC’s location is listed as Alexandria, VA and it focuses on securities and investments, specifically crypto.
Unlike Fairshake, which has a tendency to support candidates from different political parties, Defend American Jobs spends almost entirely in support of Republicans, with no spending support listed for candidates belonging to the Democratic Party, according to OpenSecrets.