{"id":31754,"date":"2024-02-14T12:23:43","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T20:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=31754"},"modified":"2024-02-14T12:23:45","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T20:23:45","slug":"new-crypto-bro-pac-spending-millions-on-ads-to-defeat-katie-porter-in-california-senate-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/02\/14\/new-crypto-bro-pac-spending-millions-on-ads-to-defeat-katie-porter-in-california-senate-race\/","title":{"rendered":"New Crypto Bro PAC Spending Millions on Ads to Defeat Katie Porter in California Senate Race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image-22-1024x682.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31755\" srcset=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image-22-1024x682.png 1024w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image-22-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image-22-150x100.png 150w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image-22-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image-22-1536x1024.png 1536w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image-22-225x150.png 225w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image-22.png 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>13 FEBRUARY 2024\/<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/politics\/\">SF POLITICS<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/author\/joe-kukura\/\">JOE KUKURA<\/a> (SFist.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whatever remaining cryptocurrency moguls who are not looking at prison time have coalesced around a common enemy in Senate candidate Katie Porter, as money from Ron Conway and Andreessen Horowitz just bought $2 million worth of attack ads against her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One-time biggest name in cryptocurrency, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, is now&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/2023\/11\/02\/day-around-the-bay-crypto-mogul-sam-bankman-fried-found-guilty-on-seven-counts-of-fraud\/\">headed to prison on fraud charges<\/a>. Same goes for the former second-name biggest name in cryptocurrency, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2024\/02\/12\/criminal-sentencing-of-binance-founder-cz-postponed-to-late-april-.html\">will be sentenced in April<\/a>. But this has not daunted the crypto bro vision in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, the New York Times reports that a cryptocurrency-focused political action committee (PAC) has raised a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/02\/13\/us\/politics\/crypto-pac-katie-porter-senate.html\">nearly $80 million war chest to influence the 2024 elections<\/a>, and Politico\u2019s Christopher Cadelago points out that they\u2019ve&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ccadelago\/status\/1757153348275626107\">spent $2 million on a TV ad campaign<\/a>&nbsp;against Rep. Katie Porter, who\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/2023\/11\/17\/adam-schiff-edging-out-katie-porter-for-the-former-feinstein-senate-seat-but-undecided-is-crushing-the-field\/\">running for Dianne Feinstein\u2019s former Senate seat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(As a reminder, it is crunch time in that Senate race. The March 5 primary is just three weeks from today, and only two of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/2024\/01\/23\/debate-for-feinsteins-senate-seat-adam-schiff-katie-porter-and-barbara-lee-spar-steve-garvey-wishy-washes\/\">four candidates running<\/a>&nbsp;will move on to the November 5 election. The crypto PAC wants to make sure Porter is not one of them, with the TV ad seen below.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CAPol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CAPol<\/a>: Yesterday&#39;s Fairshake spending is attacking Katie Porter&#39;s Senate candidacy. The total ad buy now stands at $2.9M. Here&#39;s the ad\u2b07\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/88Jcm9mE7y\">https:\/\/t.co\/88Jcm9mE7y<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bpEdGueGXG\">pic.twitter.com\/bpEdGueGXG<\/a><\/p>&mdash; AdImpact Politics (@AdImpact_Pol) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AdImpact_Pol\/status\/1757420752645566823?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 13, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>The PAC is called Fairshake, and the commercial does not mention that their cause is cryptocurrency, perhaps to avoid association with all of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2023\/nov\/21\/binance-settlement-crypto-exchange\">criminal money laundering<\/a>&nbsp;in that sector. The ad shows doctored video of Porter\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/2023\/01\/10\/orange-county-rep-katie-porter-announces-run-for-dianne-feinsteins-senate-seat\/\">famed viral whiteboard moments<\/a>&nbsp;and decries her \u201cclaims not to take corporate PAC money,\u201d while showing that she received campaign donations of between $500-$2,900 from a pharmaceutical company executive and a bank president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are all still individual donations from an actual human being, not a corporation or a PAC. And never mind the irony of a $2 million ad campaign calling someone out for taking $500-$2,900 contributions from individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Californians aren\u2019t fooled: Shadowy crypto billionaires don\u2019t want a strong voice for consumers in the Senate. They fear people who call out corporate greed, so they&#39;re spending millions on dishonest dark-money ads against me.<br><br>Their ads will never stop me from fighting for YOU. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/reVyV4Ntnn\">https:\/\/t.co\/reVyV4Ntnn<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Katie Porter (@katieporteroc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/katieporteroc\/status\/1757445157488837069?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 13, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>The Times reports that Fairshake&#8217;s $80 million election war chest comes \u201cmostly\u201d from Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase, and Ripple Labs, all of whom have major stakes in crypto. And Politico adds that our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/2015\/10\/26\/ron_conway_instructed_the_ceos_of_e\/\">longtime tech industry puppet master<\/a>&nbsp;Ron Conway is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2023\/12\/18\/crypto-firms-investors-78m-super-pacs-00132199\">also a major donor<\/a>. Per the Times, Fairshake has pulled in veteran political lobbying groups Impact Research (Biden 2020 campaign) and Jamestown Associates (Trump 2020 campaign).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What we know: Katie Porter joined other lawmakers including Elizabeth Warren in writing to Texas regulators with concerns about crypto mining and its effects on climate change.<br><br>Adam Schiff has received high letter grades from the industry.<br><br>Can see where this is headed \u2026<\/p>&mdash; Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ccadelago\/status\/1757155087892541613?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 12, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>So why are the crypto bros out to get Katie Porter? One can only speculate, but&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ccadelago\/status\/1757155087892541613\">Politico\u2019s Cadelago notes<\/a>&nbsp;that Porter has criticized the industry over&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2023\/apr\/26\/bitcoin-mining-climate-crisis-environmental-impact\">environmental concerns over crypto mining<\/a>. And notably, this is the first major negative TV attack ad campaign against a Democrat in this race. (Schiff&#8217;s campaign is running an ad that calls out&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/2023\/10\/10\/day-around-the-bay-retired-la-dodgers-bum-steve-garvey-running-for-feinsteins-former-senate-seat\/\">Republican Steve Garvey<\/a>&nbsp;for voting for Trump twice.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">For <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Slate?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Slate<\/a> I wrote about the California Senate campaign of GOP candidate Steve Garvey, who may very well knock out Katie Porter + Barbara Lee on Super Tuesday (basically gifting the seat to Adam Schiff) while running on a platform of empty head no thoughts<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OPjr9Pl7st\">https:\/\/t.co\/OPjr9Pl7st<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Alex Shultz (@AlexShultz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlexShultz\/status\/1754567215041720797?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 5, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>And its desired effect seems to be to knock out Katie Porter in the March 5 primary election. It\u2019s no secret that the leading candidate in that primary, Rep. Adam Schiff, also&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/politics\/joegarofoli\/article\/schiff-garvey-senate-18642502.php\">wants to see Porter knocked out<\/a>, so he can cakewalk to an easy blue-state November victory over Garvey. Last poll we saw, Garvey and Porter are both&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news-briefs\/news-brief\/2024\/02\/california-poll-schiff-in-lead-porter-and-garvey-tied-for-second-in-us-senate-seat-race\/\">tied at 15% for second place<\/a>, while Schiff is comfortably in first place at 25%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So Porter, and a gaggle of wealthy crypto investors, have three weeks to break that tie however they can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related:&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sfist.com\/2024\/01\/23\/debate-for-feinsteins-senate-seat-adam-schiff-katie-porter-and-barbara-lee-spar-steve-garvey-wishy-washes\/\">Debate for Feinstein\u2019s Senate Seat: Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee Spar, Steve Garvey Wishy-Washes [SFist]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Image: WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; JULY 25: U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) speaks during a news conference on Medicare Advantage plans in front of the U.S. Capitol on July 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. Joined by Medicare advocates, Congressional Democrats held a news conference \u201cto call for action to stop wrongful delays and denials in private Medicare Advantage plans, to end to fraudulent overpayments, and to mandate accountability for the worst actors who hurt patients.\u201d (Photo by Alex Wong\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>13 FEBRUARY 2024\/SF POLITICS\/JOE KUKURA (SFist.com) Whatever remaining cryptocurrency moguls who are not looking at prison time have coalesced around a common enemy in Senate candidate Katie Porter, as money from Ron Conway and Andreessen Horowitz just bought $2 million worth of attack ads against her. One-time biggest name in&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/02\/14\/new-crypto-bro-pac-spending-millions-on-ads-to-defeat-katie-porter-in-california-senate-race\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[534],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31754"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31754"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31756,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31754\/revisions\/31756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}