The crypto-aligned Protect Progress PAC has spent an additional $750,000 on media backing a Democratic challenger to Representative Al Green of Texas. The PAC described Green as 'actively hostile' to digital assets, marking an escalation in the industry's push to reshape primary races. Prediction markets currently favor the challengers in the Texas primary runoffs, suggesting the spending could tilt the outcome.
The latest spend
This week's outlay brings Protect Progress' total spending in the race to well over a million dollars. The money is going toward broadcast and digital ads in the Houston-area district, aiming to sway voters before the May runoff. The PAC has not disclosed which challenger it is backing, but the expenditure signals a focused effort to replace a lawmaker who has consistently voted against crypto-friendly legislation.
Why Al Green is in the crosshairs
Green has represented Texas's 9th Congressional District since 2005 and has built a reputation as a progressive voice on financial regulation. The PAC's description of him as 'actively hostile' lines up with his voting record on recent crypto bills, including opposition to the Financial Innovation Act and the Digital Asset Market Structure bill. For the crypto industry, unseating a hostile committee member is a strategic priority — a single seat can shift the balance on markup votes.
What prediction markets show
Prediction market contracts on platforms like Polymarket are currently pricing a higher probability for the challengers over Green in the runoff. While prediction markets aren't polls, they aggregate real-money bets and often track closer to actual outcomes than traditional surveys. The market's lean aligns with the PAC's bet that Green is vulnerable in a low-turnout primary.
The Texas primary runoffs are scheduled for June 6. Both campaigns are likely to ramp up ground operations and ad buys in the final weeks. If the challenger wins, it would mark one of the clearest examples yet of crypto money directly altering a congressional primary. Protect Progress has not said whether it will deploy similar resources in other races, but the industry's war chest for 2026 midterms is already substantial.
