Green, Menefee Clash Over $4 Million Crypto PAC Spending in Texas' Costliest House Runoff
Updated
Updated · The Texas Tribune · May 22
Green, Menefee Clash Over $4 Million Crypto PAC Spending in Texas' Costliest House Runoff
4 articles · Updated · The Texas Tribune · May 22
$4 million-plus in outside spending by crypto super PAC Protect Progress has become the central flashpoint in the May 26 Democratic runoff between Al Green and Christian Menefee in Texas' 18th District.
Green has attacked Menefee as backed by "crypto cash," while Menefee counters that Green takes corporate PAC money even as both candidates say Citizens United should be overturned and support tighter campaign-finance disclosure.
Protect Progress spent $1.5 million before the March primary and more than doubled that ahead of the runoff, dwarfing Green's $1.4 million raised since January 2025 and helping make the race Texas' most expensive House runoff.
The spending reflects a wider Democratic split over whether to reject big-money support or use it to stay competitive, especially as crypto groups expand their political reach; the winner is heavily favored in November in a district Harris would have carried by nearly 55 points.
When both candidates are backed by millions, how can voters determine who truly represents them?
How will massive spending by new tech industries influence the laws that govern them?