The cryptocurrency industry’s biggest bet of the midterm election cycle so far has flown mostly under the radar.
It has been placed in Alabama, where a group tied to the main crypto super PAC, Fairshake, has spent $9.8 million on ads to try to elect a pro-crypto Republican congressman, Barry Moore, according to data from the media tracking firm AdImpact. Fairshake said its total spending in the race, including on things like direct mail, came to $12.1 million.
Fairshake is by far the biggest spender in the race. Whether that deluge worked will be revealed on Tuesday, when Mr. Moore tries to win his primary runoff election against Jared Hudson, a retired Navy SEAL. Mr. Moore has President Trump’s endorsement, but the race is still believed to be competitive.
The crypto industry is expected to be one of the most influential power players in the midterm elections: Fairshake and its allied groups held about $150 million on hand entering May.
Fairshake is planning to hold onto much of that cash for the general election in the fall. But it has spent heavily to support pro-crypto legislators in a few primary races in safe seats — where the winner of the primary is all but certain to be the person who goes to Washington.
In deep-blue Illinois, that didn’t work: Fairshake groups spent about $9 million on ads to try to beat Julianna Stratton, a Democratic candidate for Senate, but she won the primary in March.
Fairshake groups have spent even more in Alabama. One of them, Defend American Jobs, spent about $7 million on ads before the first round of primary voting, and $3 million more in this overtime period, according to AdImpact.
Mr. Moore has voted for several bills that the crypto industry has prioritized this Congress.
When asked in April about crypto’s support for him, Mr. Moore noted that Fairshake supported candidates who oppose the creation of a central bank digital currency.
“They like that I’m a conservative fighter on that, and I don’t want the government controlling our finances,” he said.
Fairshake’s strategy in its ads has been to highlight Mr. Trump’s endorsement.
Despite that nod, Mr. Moore has trailed in some surveys of the runoff against Mr. Hudson, who is being badly outspent. A super PAC affiliated with the conservative Club for Growth has spent another $2.5 million on ads in the runoff period against Mr. Hudson, according to AdImpact.
The only significant spending for Mr. Hudson has come from a group called Alabama Conservatives, which has spent nearly $700,000 for him during this period.
