Adrian Boafo, a Maryland state delegate backed by the Protect Progress crypto PAC, won the Democratic primary on Tuesday, according to AP, marking a victory for pro-crypto groups.
Boafo has received significant backing from Protect Progress, a super PAC associated with Fairshake. According to a Federal Election Commission filing, Protect Progress poured $5.5 million into the race, which largely benefited Boafo.
Outside groups spent roughly $8.8 million in support of Boafo's campaign as of June 3, Maryland Matters reported. The spending included $1.9 million from Protect Progress and $1.5 million from the United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Boafo's background as a former federal lobbyist for Oracle may have helped attract support from crypto- and tech-focused PACs. Oracle is a cloud infrastructure provider whose services are used by crypto exchanges and DeFi projects.
"We went big and we went early," Geoff Vetter, a spokesperson for Fairshake, told The Block in a statement. "We did our part to move Adrian Boafo from fifth place to the halls of Congress. He is poised to be a leader in the largest pro-crypto Congress in history."
