Incumbent Democratic Representative Brad Sherman, who is considered to be one of the most vocal anti-crypto politicians in Washington, is facing a notable challenge from cryptocurrency-friendly candidate Jake Levine.
It is considered to be a safe blue seat, and Sherman is heavily focusing on his anti-crypto stance during the campaign.
The "safe" seat
Sherman is widely expected to keep his seat in CA-32. He boasts a strong lead in the race and a huge cash advantage.
However, he is facing a rather notable primary challenge from Levine, who aspires to bring new generational leadership to Congress.
Levine previously served as a national security official in the White House. He worked as the chief climate officer for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation during the previous administration.
The upstart is focusing on local issues like lowering utility costs and building affordable housing.
Sherman's anti-crypto crusade
Sherman has been harshly criticizing the digital asset industry for years, remaining one of the loudest anti-crypto voices in Congress. He has taken aim at various cryptocurrencies (for instance, he claimed that XRP was a security).
According to decentralized finance entrepreneur Robert Leshner, Sherman has acted as SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s "handler in Congress" and remains "as hostile an opponent as crypto can have in the house."
Leshner recently pointed out on X that Sherman is going "scorched-earth" on Levine because he is genuinely afraid of being primaried.
However, the most bizarre aspect of Sherman's aggressive campaigning is the lack of actual industry involvement in the race. Leshner noted that "not a dime" from crypto PACs has been spent to support Levine. Yet, Sherman is preemptively using the industry as a political bogeyman.
Sherman has recently distributed at least three campaign mailers focused explicitly on cryptocurrency. They state that crypto poses a "systemic threat, enabling criminals and human-rights abusers." They explicitly claim that "Crypto is bankrolling Sherman's opponent."
Sherman is currently heavily favored to advance in the June 2nd top-two primary, but he definitely seems to be concerned.
Dan Burgin
