Protect Progress Michigan spending has crossed $2 million in the state’s 13th Congressional District race, with a final-week burst of Federal Election Commission filings showing $884,240 in new media buys supporting Democratic incumbent Shri Thanedar and more than $150,000 in opposition advertising targeting challenger Donavan McKinney ahead of the 4 August primary.
How Protect Progress Michigan spending compares to the candidates’ own war chests
The additions effectively doubled the committee’s disclosed total from roughly $986,000 reported around 23 July, according to FEC records cited in the original disclosures. McKinney’s own campaign had reported $1.23 million in total disbursements through 15 July, meaning the outside group’s expenditure alone has now exceeded what the challenger spent through that period, though the figures cover different reporting windows and forms of political activity.
Protect Progress is registered with the FEC as an independent expenditure-only committee (a super PAC) meaning its spending supports or opposes candidates without funds being transferred directly to their campaigns. Federal rules require these expenditures to remain independent of supported candidates. The committee was registered with the FEC on 18 August 2023, with committee ID C00848440.
Its official website describes the committee’s purpose as supporting ‘Democratic candidates committed to securing the United States as the home to innovators building the next generation of the internet,’ framing a clearer regulatory and legal framework for blockchain as central to that goal.
Fairshake’s balance sheet: $127 million still on hand
Protect Progress sits inside the Fairshake network, and the scale of the parent operation puts the Michigan activity in context. According to FactCheck.org’s review of Fairshake’s July FEC filing, the network had raised almost $137 million in the 2026 cycle as of 30 June and still held approximately $127 million on hand, making it one of the better-capitalised outside groups in this cycle’s midterms.
Fairshake has directed at least $51 million to two affiliated super PACs: Protect Progress, which backs Democratic candidates, and Defend American Jobs, which supports Republican candidates, per FactCheck.org. The Michigan race is one deployment of that dual-track strategy.
On 28 January 2026, Fairshake announced that its combined war chest had reached $193 million, with $74 million in new contributions since July 2025 coming from Coinbase ($25 million), Ripple ($25 million), and Andreessen Horowitz ($24 million), according to Fintech Weekly’s review of FEC Schedule A filings. That announcement came the day before the Senate Agriculture Committee held its markup on the CLARITY Act.
FEC Schedule A data reviewed by Fintech Weekly (as of 16 March 2026) shows Ripple Labs as the largest single contributor at $48 million, with Coinbase at $33,092,475 and AH Capital Management (Andreessen Horowitz) at $23.8 million. Founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz each contributed $11.9 million personally. CNBC has also reported additional backers including Jump Crypto, Uniswap Labs, and Robert Leshner of Superstate.
Ballotpedia notes that Fairshake was founded in 2023, with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stating the network was formed in response to the SEC’s approach to regulating cryptocurrency at the time.
Thanedar’s votes and McKinney’s counter-argument
Thanedar voted for the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act and the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in the House, describing them in an official statement as steps toward clearer rules, consumer safeguards and wider financial access, while acknowledging the bills were ‘not perfect.’ The House-approved CLARITY Act remains under consideration in the Senate.
Protect Progress has not stated in its FEC notices that any specific vote triggered its spending. McKinney, for his part, alleged in a 21 July statement that ‘the crypto lobby is paying my opponent back’ for votes that benefited President Donald Trump’s digital asset interests. FEC records confirm the committee paid for independent advertisements; they do not establish the claimed motive or any coordination with Thanedar’s campaign.
Public Citizen has estimated that crypto companies supplied about $189 million across the 2026 election cycle, with Fairshake-linked groups accounting for more than $82 million in expenditures. Those figures represent the watchdog’s own analysis, not an FEC determination.
What the 4 August result will settle
More than 1.03 million Michigan residents had voted by the morning of 31 July, according to the Michigan Department of State. Statewide early voting continued through 2 August, with some jurisdictions offering voting on 3 August; completed absentee ballots must arrive by 8pm on election day.
If Thanedar holds the seat, expect Fairshake’s dual-track PAC model to be treated as validated for the remainder of the cycle. If McKinney closes the gap, the $127 million still sitting in Fairshake’s account will face harder questions about deployment ROI than it does today.
