The US Senate races the crypto industry will be watching tonight
Crypto stances vary among candidates vying for Senate seats in Utah, Michigan and Arizona
US Senator candidate Kari Lake | gageskidmore/"Kari Lake" (CC license)
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Happy Election Day to our US readers!
Yesterday we wrote about one close race in the Senate that has caught the attention of big crypto donors. Here are some other Senate races we will be watching tonight:
Utah Senate Seat: Caroline Gleich (D) v. Rep. John Curtis (R)
In the race to replace outgoing senator Mitt Romney, current US Rep. Curtis is polling ahead of Democrat Gleich by 35% — a lead largely attributed to the crypto industry.
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 two crypto-related bills in the House this session: the FIT21 Act and the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act. He also voted in favor of the bill that sought to discredit the SEC’s SAB 121 guidance, which was ultimately vetoed by President Biden.
“[It] is so important to get government involved, because if they don’t understand what you’re doing, they’ll make really bad decisions,” Curtis said last month at Blockworks’ Permissionless conference in Salt Lake City. “The worst part of regulation is its unpredictability.”
Michigan Senate Seat: Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D) v. Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R)
This race will be interesting for two reasons. First, it’s going to be very close, according to the latest polls, which have Slotkin leading Rogers 49% to 48%. Second, it’s one of very few races this year where both candidates appear relatively supportive of crypto.
Slotkin has an A rating from Stand With Crypto, and she voted in favor of both FIT21 and the bill to overturn SAB 121. The Protect Progress PAC (the Democratic pro-crypto group associated with Fairshake) has spent more than $10 million supporting Slotkin since the end of October, FEC filings show.
While Rogers also headed into Election Day with a Stand With Crypto A rating, the data to support this ranking is a bit less robust. Rogers, a US representative from 2001 to 2015, doesn’t have a crypto voting record, but has leaned into pro-crypto messaging throughout his campaign.
Arizona Senate Seat: Ruben Gallego (D) v. Kari Lake (R)
In another race shaping up to be neck and neck, Lake and Gallego also both have A ratings from Stand With Crypto.
Lake has publicly supported Donald Trump’s statements on bitcoin as a “last line of defense” against foreign adversaries and has been accepting bitcoin donations throughout her campaign.
Gallego, like Slotkin, also voted in favor of the SAB 121 resolution and FIT21. He has backing from Protect Progress to the tune of $10 million.
Keep your eye on Blockworks.co tonight for the latest updates on more crypto-related races.
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