In November’s midterm election in Ohio, a Democrat and a Donald Trump-backed Republican, JD Vance will face off, both of whom are pro-crypto.
The Battle Of Pro-Crypto Candidates
JD Vance has won the Republican Senate primary in Ohio. This makes him the GOP’s nominee in the Senate battle between Democrat Tim Ryan and crypto-friendly candidates from both parties. According to the Guardian, Vance’s victory on Tuesday may have been aided by a last-minute endorsement from former President Donald Trump. Nevertheless, this helped him defeat the projected front-runner, former state treasurer Josh Mandel.
Vance and Mandel both favor cryptocurrency, with Mandel famously tweeting, “Ohio must be a pro-God, pro-family, pro-Bitcoin state.” Vance has divulged Bitcoin (BTC) holdings worth up to $250,000, which equates to about 6.5 coins at today’s prices, according to CoinGecko. Through a Super PAC, he was also supported by Bitcoin supporter and billionaire investor Peter Thiel. Thiel gave $3.5 million to the Protect Ohio Values Super PAC, according to Bloomberg on April 20. Meanwhile, Democrat Tim Ryan supports legislation that would help simplify the digital asset tax reporting requirements.
Impact Of Bitcoin Investors
According to a report published by CNBC, bitcoin investors are having a significant impact on November’s impending midterm elections. The most powerful looks to be Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO and founder of the crypto exchange FTX (SBF). SBF has been a prominent political donor since the previous presidential election. He was the second greatest financial supporter of President Joe Biden’s campaign.
Protect Our Future PAC is a new Political Action Committee (PAC) founded by SBF. As of March 31, it had raised over $14 million, according to CNBC. It might be utilized to have a significant impact on the forthcoming elections. There are also the GMI PAC and the HODL PAC, both of which have $6.3 million in their coffers. They are also sponsored by other FTX employees in support of midterm candidates.
Candidates who have chosen not to accept funds from PACs, may be concerned about the amount of cryptocurrency floating around. Nina Turner, a Democratic candidate for the Ohio State House of Representatives, tweeted on April 15 that she “is not for sale.” The tweet was referring to her opponent (and eventual winner) Shontei Brown, who accepted PAC money for her campaign.
