Pro-Crypto Lawyer John Deaton Triumphs In Republican Primary

We had already reported on the backstage of the Massachusetts state election for the constituency seat in the US Senate. The lawyer John Deaton, a proud supporter of the Web3 ecosystem and - consequently - also of cryptocurrencies, wanted to challenge the outgoing senator, Elizabeth Warren, who is openly opposed to decentralised finance and all its possible extensions. Before he could do so, however, he had to win the state primaries, the ones that make the Republican challenger's candidacy official.

Well, at this stage he nimbly triumphed over his challengers, who were less well known and influential than him, since he had managed to raise a large amount of funding (crucial in the States to triumph in elections) to support his own campaign.

An Unimpeachable Triumph

Deaton's success was clear and sharp. The percentages say that the lawyer garnered 64% of the vote, leaving little more than crumbs for his two challengers. Robert Antonellis had to settle for 26.7% while Ian Cain stopped at 9.3%. This means that John Deaton's name will be the one that Massachusetts voters will find on their November ballot for the renewal of the Senate, next to that of Elizabeth Warren. The election, in keeping with tradition, will be held at the same time as the presidential election.

This round, therefore, adds an extra layer of curiosity. In addition to the simple choice between two candidates so different and far apart, the election for senator will also serve to test the ground in the state to see where public opinion stands: will it be for or against cryptocurrency?

Massachusetts is a historically democratic constituency, but the amount of funding received by John Deaton suggests that the lawyer may be playing his cards right. Much of the money he has raised has come from familiar faces on the Web3 who live out of state, but who have nevertheless wanted to support his candidacy, precisely because he is a politician who is openly in favour of new financial technologies.

Who is John Deaton?

John Deaton was a marine before choosing to serve in the forum, and is an enthusiast of cryptocurrencies, especially Ripple. He has made no secret of the fact that he is a proud investor in XRP and has often spoken about Web3 and DeFi during his rallies.

In his victory speech, Deaton did not even mention cryptocurrencies, preferring to focus on other issues that are quite heartfelt in those latitudes such as poverty, unemployment and healthcare. He is unlikely to keep the topic out of his campaign over the next two months, however. Warren, in fact, is a candidate who has waged war, without using euphemisms, on the crypto industry. The Democratic senator, who is a member of the Senate Banking Committee and has to defend the interests of traditional finance, has in fact described the new monetary technologies as an enabler for spies and terrorists, as well as drug dealers and hackers.

It may well be said that she is not well liked by those who are enthusiastic about it, and Deaton may have a nice reservoir of voters to wrest from her.

All Allies of John Deaton

According to the Federal Commission, Deaton had raised - as of 31 July - $1.7 million to support his candidacy. This is a significant amount for this type of election. Most of the funds were put together after an initiative held in April. The lawyer has openly sided with Coinbase, in his lawsuit against the SEC, and has also filed an amicus brief in court on behalf of over 4.700 customers of the service.

Following this stance, Deaton received funds from Ripple executives; the Winklevoss twins (founders of Gemini); Anthony Scaramucci of SkyBridge Capital; Charles Hoskinson of Cardano; and even Jesse Powell of Kraken. Its backers are quite wealthy and interested in supporting those who defend their business. Certainly, this funding has allowed the Republican candidate to gain publicity and visibility. Now, however, John Deaton has a tougher challenge to overcome.

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