Crypto PAC reports $362,000 in ads supporting Aisha Wahab in California

Protect Progress, an affiliate of the cryptocurrency-aligned Fairshake super PAC, reported spending $362,000 on advertising supporting Democratic Representative Aisha Wahab in California's 14th Congressional District, Cointelegraph reported on October 19, citing a filing submitted Sunday to the Federal Election Commission.

The spending comes ahead of another contest between Wahab and fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez in November. Wahab defeated Hernandez with more than 53% of the vote in an August 18 special election to complete former Representative Eric Swalwell's term through January 2027, according to the report.

Both candidates received a strongly-supports-crypto rating from Stand With Crypto after completing its questionnaires before the special election. Cointelegraph said their shared position raised questions about Fairshake's decision to support Wahab in the November race.

Fairshake was launched in 2023 with major backing from Coinbase, Ripple Labs and Andreessen Horowitz. Since the 2024 elections, it has spent tens of millions of dollars supporting candidates it considers favorable to cryptocurrency, the report said.

During an October 7 debate, Wahab said she opposed Hernandez for not denouncing corporate-PAC spending aligned with AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Cointelegraph said it sought comment from both campaigns and Fairshake but received no immediate responses.

The district's boundaries will also change between the August special election and November. Its current area, including parts of San Francisco's East Bay, will expand under California's Proposition 50, approved in 2025, according to the report.