Odaily Planet Daily report: The Illinois primary election results were gradually announced on the evening of March 17 local time. The cryptocurrency industry invested over $13 million in the state elections through the super PAC Fairshake, with nearly $10 million spent opposing Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton’s Senate bid and over $3 million directed toward two races supporting candidates advocating for cryptocurrency consumer protection regulations. The AI industry invested approximately $2.5 million in two House races.
In District 7, State Representative La Shawn Ford, who supports consumer protection regulations, won the nomination despite AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, spending nearly $5 million and the crypto industry PAC Fairshake contributing nearly $2.5 million. In District 2, Donna Miller, a Cook County commissioner backed by AIPAC, defeated former Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., who was supported by an AI industry PAC. In District 8, former Representative Melissa Bean, backed by AIPAC and PACs from the crypto and AI industries, defeated progressive candidate Junaid Ahmed.
This Illinois primary election involved five House seats and one Senate seat, with external groups spending over $500 million in total, including more than $350 million related to AIPAC, the cryptocurrency industry, and the AI sector.