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Sam Bankman-Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried in New York on Aug 17, 2022.Jeenah Moon / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Here are the races where Bankman-Fried's donations mattered most

The PAC backed primarily by the disgraced former crypto CEO played a big role in helping elect some Democrats to Congress. 

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Disgraced former crypto CEO Samuel Bankman-Fried is now facing a slew of charges related to both fraud and campaign finance violations, charges that cast a shadow over the tens of millions of dollars he injected into the American political system this cycle.

There's still not an exact picture of how much Bankman-Fried spent on politics this cycle. Campaign finance reports to close out the cycle aren't due until next month, and Bankman-Fried has already admitted to obfuscating donations to Republicans in order to avoid scrutiny from the media.

But based on what's already public, Bankman-Fried was one of the more prolific campaign donors this cycle, and his spending had a significant effect on midterm races. Reports show he gave $6 million to the top House Democratic super PAC and $1 million to the top Senate Democratic super PAC, money that helped fund some of the biggest spenders in the midterms. And his donations to the Protect Our Future super PAC helped shape some key Democratic primaries.

Here's a reminder of the top races where Protect Our Future, which received $27 million of the $28.5 million it raised this cycle from Bankman-Fried himself, spent the most money during the Democratic primaries:

Oregon 6th Congressional District

Protect Our Future spent more money in this Portland-area congressional district than in any other race, almost $11.5 million to boost Carrick Flynn. Flynn, a political outsider who previously worked at a think tank, lost his primary to state Rep. Andrea Salinas, who was backed by groups like Bold PAC, as well as both Oregon senators and Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Georgia's 7th Congressional District

The group that drew the second most spending from Protect Our Future featured a clash between two Democratic incumbents who ran against each other after redistricting shaped the map, Democratic Reps. Lucy McBath and Carolyn Bourdeaux.

The group spent almost $2 million to boost McBath, who ultimately won, leading to criticism from Bourdeaux about the group's practices and questioning whether the group was trying to pave a more friendly road for cryptocurrency in Congress.

Texas' 30th Congressional District

Protect Our Future was one of the two crypto-backed groups to boost state Rep. Jasmine Crockett in her successful bid to replace the retiring Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson lee.

The group spent $1.4 million to boost her in her Democratic primary, and then she cruised to victory in the less competitive November general election.

Other top races

The group spent at least $500,000 in support of Democratic candidates in nine other races (parenthesis indicate whether they won the general election, even if the spending happened in the primary):

  • $1.1 million to boost Adam Hollier in Michigan-13 (lost)
  • $1 million to boost Valerie Foushee in North Carolina-04 (won)
  • $1 million to boost Rep. Shontel Brown in Ohio-11 (won)
  • $1 million to boost Robert Garcia in California-42 (won)
  • $970,000 to boost Morgan McGarvey in Kentucky-03 (won)
  • $960,000 to boost Maxwell Frost in Florida-10 (won)
  • $710,000 to boost Josh Lafazan in New York-03 (lost)
  • $510,000 to boost Francis Conole in New York-22 (lost)
  • $500,000 to boost Sydney Kamlager in California-37 (won)
  • $500,000 to boost Jonathan Jackson in Illinois-01 (won)

CORRECTION (Dec. 20, 2022, 4:37 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated when EMILY’s List endorsed Oregon Democrat Andrea Salinas. It was in the November general election, not the primary.