A crypto-aligned political action committee's six-figure ad campaign wasn't enough to save two-term Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar in Michigan's 13th Congressional District primary. Thanedar lost to state Representative Donavan McKinney by a 51.9% to 48.1% margin, according to results reported Wednesday, in a race that became a proxy fight over the crypto industry's growing footprint in Democratic primaries.
Protect Progress, the Democratic-facing arm of the crypto super PAC Fairshake and backed by contributions tied to Coinbase and Ripple, poured more than $2 million into media supporting Thanedar. The industry's interest in keeping him in Congress was straightforward: Thanedar had voted for both the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act, two of the signature crypto-policy bills to move through the current Congress, and had separately put $3.7 million of his own campaign funds into crypto companies during the second quarter of 2026.
McKinney turned the PAC spending into a campaign issue
Rather than let the outside spending pass quietly, McKinney's campaign made it a centerpiece of his closing argument, framing the ad blitz as evidence that Thanedar was doing the industry's bidding rather than representing his district.
McKinney accused the crypto industry of "paying my opponent back for helping Trump make over $1 billion since taking office," tying Thanedar's voting record directly to the PAC's involvement in the race.
In his victory remarks, McKinney struck a populist note that echoed the broader argument his campaign had made against outside money in the race.
"Washington has spent too long serving billionaires and corporate interests. I will always only serve the people I represent," McKinney said.
A rare miss for a PAC that has mostly won
The Michigan result is notable mainly because it bucks a trend. Fairshake and its affiliates entered the 2026 midterms with a war chest north of $190 million, built on donations from firms including Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz, and had already notched a string of primary wins this cycle, including sweeping several Southern state primaries and backing successful candidates in Washington state. That follows a 2024 cycle in which every candidate the PAC backed in New York races won outright. Michigan's 13th District primary appears to be one of the comparatively few instances this cycle where Fairshake-aligned spending failed to move the outcome, suggesting local dynamics and an opponent willing to campaign directly against PAC money can still outweigh a well-funded air war.
What comes next
McKinney advances to the general election in November, where he'll face Republican Taras Nykoriak. Thanedar's defeat leaves Fairshake and its affiliated groups to regroup ahead of a midterm cycle in which the PAC has signaled it intends to keep spending aggressively on races it views as pivotal to the industry's regulatory agenda in Congress.
