Crypto-backed PAC scales back Massachusetts primary ad spending

Protect Progress, a Fairshake affiliate, spent just over $189,000 on media supporting Representative Jake Auchincloss in Tuesday's Massachusetts primary. The spending supported Auchincloss's reelection campaign in the state's 4th Congressional District. Federal Election Commission records showed the spending as of Tuesday. Fairshake and its affiliates spent more than $130 million on ads and media during the 2024 election cycle. Jason Poulos said some of the funds created AI-generated mailers supporting Auchincloss. Poulos urged Auchincloss in an Aug. 16 letter to publicly renounce Protect Progress's efforts to influence the primary and general election. Poulos claimed Auchincloss accepted $77,500 directly from crypto-industry sources since 2020. Poulos cited Auchincloss's vote for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in July 2025. The bill has not become law because the Senate has not yet considered it. Fairshake and its affiliates spent about $3.6 million on House and Senate races in Alaska, Florida and Wyoming in August. Fairshake reported $122 million in cash on hand ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter said in August that the group would continue spending ahead of November. Massachusetts was scheduled to be one of the last states to hold its primary. New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware were scheduled to hold primaries in September.