Opening
Cryptocurrency-aligned and pro-Israel political action committees spent over $45 million combined in U.S. House primary races through Thursday, according to Federal Election Commission data analyzed by Axios. Pro-Israel groups directed nearly $8 million to defeat Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in Kentucky's 4th District, contributing to what became the most expensive House primary in American history, while crypto-aligned Protect Progress invested nearly $5 million to unseat longtime Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) in favor of freshman Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) in Texas' 18th District. Eight of the 12 largest outside spenders in House primaries this cycle are PACs affiliated with cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, or pro-Israel advocacy, marking an unprecedented concentration of single-issue spending in congressional races. The spending levels rival those of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Republican National Congressional Committee but focus exclusively on primary contests rather than general elections. This pattern represents a shift in how outside groups influence candidate selection, with targeted districts seeing spending that dwarfs traditional party committee involvement in primary races.
Top Four PAC Spenders
Protect Progress, the Democratic arm of leading cryptocurrency PAC Fairshake, led all outside spenders with $15.8 million across nearly a dozen Democratic primaries as of Thursday. United Democracy Project, affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), spent $11.6 million, including funds opposing Massie and former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.). Elect Chicago Women, an AIPAC-aligned organization, spent $9.8 million supporting two Illinois House candidates: former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) and state Sen. Laura Fine. Think Big, the Democratic arm of pro-AI PAC Leading the Future, spent $8.2 million, including support for Bean and opposition to New York U.S. House candidate Alex Bores for his support of AI guardrails.
Competitive Landscape
The only entities matching these spending levels are the two parties' main super PACs: the Democrats' House Majority PAC and the Republicans' Congressional Leadership Fund. These groups rarely spend large sums in primaries, focusing their energy on supporting battleground-district candidates in the general election. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has gotten involved in a few primaries, but only to protect its chosen candidates from what it alleges is GOP meddling. This leaves House primaries open for outside groups to flood the zone with as much spending as they deem necessary to get their preferred candidates over the finish line.
Mixed Results for Targeted Candidates
House members and candidates targeted by this spending have tried to make the groups' presence the big issue in their primaries, with mixed results. Some progressives, such as Daniel Biss and Analilia Mejia, narrowly succeeded by focusing specifically on AIPAC's involvement in their races. Crypto and AI groups have largely succeeded in elevating their preferred candidates, with AIPAC also notching several wins using groups such as Elect Chicago Women to obscure their intervention. On the GOP side, AIPAC did not hide its involvement in Kentucky's 4th District, but Massie's attacks on it and other pro-Israel groups and donors failed to help him keep his seat.
Lawmaker Perspectives
Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) told Axios in a phone interview Thursday that "people want to campaign on" these PACs spending against them, but "quite frankly, I don't think that many people are ... moved by it." Lawmakers and candidates "like the idea that people are moved by it, and ... like the romanticism that people are moved by it," he said, "but I don't think people really give a sh*t." Veasey said he, like many of his Democratic colleagues, wants to eliminate big money in politics, but "people have to figure out how to work in that world ... and be realistic." Usamah Andrabi, a spokesperson for the left-wing Justice Democrats, said "You don't have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars if your candidates or policies are popular." Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said AIPAC has "overplayed its hand" with its heavy-handed involvement in Democratic primaries in recent cycles, arguing that it will "take a long time for them to rebuild their credibility."
Upcoming Primary Spending
In Maryland's 5th District, United Democracy Project and Protect Progress have both spent heavily in the race to replace former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), with both backing Hoyer-endorsed state Del. Adrian Boafo. In New York's 12th District, Bores has drawn millions in opposition from Think Big, whose donors include OpenAI, while receiving support from Anthropic-backed Jobs and Democracy PAC and crypto-aligned PAC You Can Push Back.
