The crypto industry’s top political action committee, Fairshake, spent more than $2 million trying to defeat Oliver Gilbert in a Florida Democratic primary to replace the retiring Democrat who endorsed him.
Gilbert, who served as a Miami-Dade County commissioner, won the Tuesday primary vote over a crowded field, despite an aggressive campaign from one of Fairshake’s affiliate super PACs, Protect Progress, in which its ads cited faked Miami Herald headlines.
Gilbert had campaigned in opposition to the policies of President Donald Trump and criticized his crypto ties. Fairshake’s affiliate supported two other candidates in that race, including one that came in a close second behind Gilbert. But the district’s Democratic dominance would make it likely that Gilbert will be advanced to Congress after the November general election, potentially adding another lawmaker to Capitol Hill that was strongly opposed by the industry.
However, most of Fairshake’s chosen candidates, which received lesser financial commitments than the contest involving Gilbert, won their races in this week’s primaries in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming, bringing the super PAC’s congressional primary record to 49 wins out of 53 elections, according to spokesman Geoff Vetter.
