Democratic pro-crypto candidate Yassamin Ansari won the primary elections in Arizona.
Local news outlet AZCentral recently reported that Ansari won by a mere 39 votes against a candidate backed by staunch crypto critic Senator Elizabeth Warren. The winner is a former Phoenix mayor and will now move on to the general election in a Democrat-favoring district.
Ansari’s lead over her Warren-backed leading Democratic opponent Raquel Terán decreased from down to 42 votes. Still, the pro-crypto candidate ended up prevailing with a lead of 39 votes after the tally was checked under court supervision.
The development follows late July reports that Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, have each contributed $500,000 in Bitcoin (BTC) to support efforts to replace United States Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Warren was the one who back in May — alongside William Cassidy (R-La.) sent a letter to the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Drug Enforcement Administration that read:
“[We] seek an update on the Biden Administration’s actions to crack down on drug traffickers’ exploitation of crypto to grow their business and launder their ill-gotten gains.”
Yassamin Ansari and crypto
According to an Aug. 20 Coindesk report, Fairshake — the leading political action committee (PAC) for the cryptocurrency industry — backed Ansari. The crypto advocacy organization paid for $1.4 million worth of advertising for the candidate, which her opponent starkly criticized. Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto said:
“We were proud to support a leader who will come to Congress and work across the aisle and embrace innovation to grow our economy.”
Fairshake and its super PACs are now investing heavily to influence the November general election. The organizations have invested in 21 congressional races so far, including a plan to spend $12 million to derail Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).
Brown is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee which has resisted movement on Senate legislation to oversee the cryptocurrency industry.
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