Pro-crypto attorney John Deaton has won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in the Massachusetts primary election and is set to face off against Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren in November.
Deaton, a former Marine and outspoken advocate of Ripple (XRP), defeated two other Republican candidates including industrial engineer Bob Antonellis and Quincy city council president Ian Cain to nab the Republican nomination, according to a Sept. 4 report from the Associated Press.
He has secured 64% of votes so far, with just over 43% of the total votes in Massachusetts being counted at the time of publication, according to election tracking data from Politico.
John Deaton has secured the Republican nomination for the Senate in Massachusetts. Source: Politico
Deaton will face off against Warren in November. His opponent, who has won a Senate seat twice, had stiff competition for her Senate bid in 2012, beating Republican incumbent Scott Brown but she received more than 60% of the vote in 2018. She is seeking a third term this year and is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Warren, who currently sits on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee has waged war on the crypto industry in recent years, claiming that crypto technology facilitates terrorism and spying and contributes to the spread of malware and drug abuse.
She has proposed several sweeping bills that seek to stifle the growth of the crypto industry in the United States.
Notably, Deaton made several pledges in his victory speech which was posted on X, but did not make any specific mention of crypto.
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) September 4, 2024
Deaton’s primary campaign got a boost from some big names in the crypto industry, including the Winklevoss twins and executives from fintech firm Ripple.
Related: Super PAC focuses on unseating Sen. Warren, spends $850K on John Deaton
The Commonwealth Unity Fund, a crypto political action committee (PAC), distributed more than $1 million in Massachusetts to support Deaton’s bid for the US Senate.
Deaton’s top donors included Ripple executives Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse, Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci, Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson, and Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell.
According to Federal Election Commission records, Deaton had raised roughly $1.7 million in his bid for the Senate as of July 31.
In April, Deaton filed an amicus brief on behalf of 4,701 Coinbase customers in support of the firm in its case against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
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