Super PAC tried to ‘bury a conversation’ on crypto with attack ads — Rep. Katie Porter

California Representative Katie Porter, who lost a primary race for the United States Senate in March, suggested that targeted ads by a political action committee (PAC) may have contributed to her defeat but did not further the national conversation on crypto.

In an interview with Pod Save America released on March 19, Porter questioned the motivations behind $10 million worth of spending aimed at derailing her campaign for the U.S. Senate by Fairshake, a Super PAC backed by cryptocurrency firms including Ripple and Coinbase. According to the California lawmaker, negative ads by Fairshake specifically targeted her but failed to promote what could have been a productive discussion on crypto policy.

“This wasn’t actually a conversation that I think we should be having about crypto, about technology in Congress,” said Porter. “This wasn’t about crypto policy. This wasn’t about engaging me, seeing what I think, teaching me, coming to a policy understanding.”

Porter had been running for one of California’s two seats in the U.S. Senate but lost in a March primary to Democrat Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey. Fairshake released an ad spot in February claiming Porter took campaign contributions from “big pharma, big oil, and the big bank executives” — claims the Sacramento Bee rated as “mostly false.”

The California representative said while asking about crypto-related policy and potential conflicts of interest was fair game for candidates, attack ads like the ones she faced “bur[ied] a conversation” rather than creating a debate on issues. She said that she believed blockchain technology can be a force for good and encouraged robust discussions on crypto policy, adding:

“They don’t know what my crypto views are because they never asked.”

Schiff and Garvey will face each other in a November runoff when other seats in Congress will be up for grabs as part of a major U.S. election in 2024. John Deaton, a lawyer who has represented crypto firms, announced his intention to run against crypto skeptic Elizabeth Warren for one of Massachusetts’ Senate seats.