Erin Houchin braced for the worst when a mysterious group started buying television ads last month in her highly competitive southern Indiana congressional race.
Houchin assumed she would face a negative blitz, like the one that crushed her in 2016 when she ran for the same seat. But, in fact, the opposite happened.
American Dream Federal Action, a super PAC financed by a cryptocurrency CEO, saturated the district with ads promoting Houchin as a “Trump Tough” conservative who would “stop the socialists in Washington.” That push helped secure her win last week in a Republican primary.
“All you can do is hold your breath,” Houchin’s longtime consultant, Cam Savage, said of when they learned about the ad buy. “It could help you, but the fear is it will end you.”
The impact of the unsolicited help shows how cryptocurrency tycoons are emerging as the new power players in American politics. They are pouring millions of dollars into primary elections as they try to gain influence over members of Congress and other government officials who are crafting regulations.
This year, for the first time, industry executives have spent nearly $20 million so far, according to records and interviews.
It’s a delicate but deliberate march by companies that make money based in part on evading government attention.
More than $100 million also has been spent lobbying since 2018 by crypto companies, as well as those who potentially stand to lose if…
