"The companies flooded the state's Democratic primaries with millions of dollars to promote candidates they believed would have a light touch when it came to regulating technologies that have begun to upend how people do their jobs and manage their finances. Using super PACs that are allowed to spend unlimited sums of money, they ran television advertising and distributed campaign fliers that only occasionally alluded to their industries."
"The crypto-backed political action committee Fairshake spent more than $10 million against Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who ultimately won the Democratic nomination to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Fairshake and Protect Progress, which is also tied to the crypto industry, spent millions more to unsuccessfully support Stratton's main rivals, U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission."
"The coy strategy did not stop the AI and crypto industries' interventions from becoming a lightning rod in the rowdy primaries in Illinois, where there was a rare glut of open seats that led to competitive races. In Illinois' U.S. House primaries, the tech-backed groups' campaign spending had mixed results."
Artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency companies invested heavily in Illinois Democratic primaries through super PACs, spending millions to support candidates favoring lighter regulation of their industries. Using organizations like Fairshake and Protect Progress, they ran television ads and distributed campaign materials that downplayed industry connections while emphasizing anti-Trump and liberal messaging. Despite significant spending, including over $10 million against Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, the strategy largely failed. Stratton won her nomination despite opposition, while candidates the tech groups supported lost their races. In House primaries, results were mixed, with pro-regulation candidate La Shawn Ford winning despite nearly $2.5 million in opposition spending from Fairshake.
#cryptocurrency-lobbying #ai-industry-politics #campaign-finance #illinois-primaries #technology-regulation
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]