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A crypto mogul's hidden hand in Vermont's congressional race stunned observers. It's a common trick
https://vtdigger.org/2022/08/25/a-crypto-moguls-hidden-hand-in-vermonts-congressional-race-stunned-observers-its-a-common-trick/A crypto mogul’s hidden hand in Vermont’s congressional race stunned observers. It’s a common trick.
By Lola Duffort
Aug 25 2022
The revelation this week that a cryptocurrency mogul's million-dollar super PAC donation preceded state Sen. Becca Balint's victory in the Democratic primary for Vermont's open U.S. House seat stunned observers of the closely watched contest. But campaign finance experts say the move is an example of common techniques used to obscure who is influencing federal races.
Seven Days reported Tuesday that the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which spent just shy of $1 million on Balint's behalf in the race, had recently benefited from a $1.1 million donation from Nishad Singh, a top executive at the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The political action committee's financial disclosures make clear that the lion’s share of the outside spending supporting Balint's run came from Singh's donation.
Bitter debates about outside spending dominated the race in the two months before election day. LGBTQ+ and progressive groups, including the Victory Fund, would ultimately spend $1.6 million backing Balint’s run, and her chief rival, Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, vigorously attempted to make this into a liability by decrying the influence of big money in politics.
And when Gray’s campaign went on the offensive about the outside spending, the Balint campaign shifted attention to who those groups were.
[...]
By Lola Duffort
Aug 25 2022
The revelation this week that a cryptocurrency mogul's million-dollar super PAC donation preceded state Sen. Becca Balint's victory in the Democratic primary for Vermont's open U.S. House seat stunned observers of the closely watched contest. But campaign finance experts say the move is an example of common techniques used to obscure who is influencing federal races.
Seven Days reported Tuesday that the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which spent just shy of $1 million on Balint's behalf in the race, had recently benefited from a $1.1 million donation from Nishad Singh, a top executive at the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The political action committee's financial disclosures make clear that the lion’s share of the outside spending supporting Balint's run came from Singh's donation.
Bitter debates about outside spending dominated the race in the two months before election day. LGBTQ+ and progressive groups, including the Victory Fund, would ultimately spend $1.6 million backing Balint’s run, and her chief rival, Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, vigorously attempted to make this into a liability by decrying the influence of big money in politics.
And when Gray’s campaign went on the offensive about the outside spending, the Balint campaign shifted attention to who those groups were.
[...]