Ripple Co-Founder-Backed PAC Helps Crypto-Friendly Democrat Win Colorado Primary
Colorado’s 8th Congressional District is a key swing seat in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. Republican incumbent Gabe Evans won it by less than 1 percentage point in 2024. The intervention in the Democratic primary by You Can Push Back, a super PAC funded by Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, highlights the crypto industry’s use of political spending to influence the direction of congressional regulation.
After the June 30 primary, Manny Rutinel secured the Democratic nomination by defeating Shannon Bird 61.7% to 33.6%. Larsen contributed $3.5 million to the You Can Push Back super PAC, which spent $1 million on media supporting Rutinel’s campaign. Rutinel, rated “strongly supports crypto” by the Coinbase-affiliated group Stand With Crypto, will challenge Evans on November 3.
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The history behind this eventCoinbase- and Ripple-Backed PAC Pours $2 Million Into Florida Race
Protect Progress, a political action committee funded largely by Coinbase and Ripple, has become part of the crypto industry’s push to elect lawmakers viewed as supportive of digital-asset policy. Its intervention in Florida’s 24th Congressional District underscores how the sector is using campaign spending to shape the makeup of Congress as US lawmakers continue to debate rules for cryptocurrencies and related markets.
The PAC has spent more than $2 million on advertising opposing a Democratic candidate in the Florida district who is backed by an incumbent lawmaker with a record of voting against digital-asset legislation. The ads make little direct mention of cryptocurrency, indicating that Protect Progress is framing its intervention around broader political themes even as the spending reflects the industry’s effort to influence congressional races.
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