Crypto’s First Win Could Come Tonight In Indiana’s 9th
A lot has been written about the millions of dollars flowing into independent expenditure groups from Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of a cryptocurrency exchange, and what this means for the burgeoning industry. His involvement in contested Democratic primaries has ruffled feathers across the country.
But if crypto-world’s first primary win comes tonight, it would actually be in a Republican primary, not a Democratic one. And the mogul behind the curtain won’t be Bankman-Fried but rather one of his lower-profile colleagues, Ryan Salame, who donated $4 million to an outside group supporting former state Sen. Erin Houchin in the crowded primary for Indiana’s 9th District, a solid Republican seat being vacated by Rep. Trey Hollingsworth.
Salame, whose American Dream Federal Action committee has spent at least $640,000 supporting Houchin, is not the only major donor spending in the race, but he is the only one whose identity we know. A super PAC called Hoosier Values is supporting another Republican, Stu Barnes-Israel, to the tune of $911,000. But because of when this super PAC was created, it won’t have to disclose its donors until well after the primary is over.
Money and elections have a complicated relationship in the U.S., but this has created a situation where voters have headed to the polls without a critical piece of information about Barnes-Israel’s campaign. That’s especially concerning in this election, considering the two independent expenditure groups are each spending more than three times as much money as the candidate they’re supporting.