18 Jul: Bitcoin and Politics - June 2022!

By theinspired | Bitcoin & Politics | 18 Jul 2022

NOTE: I will keep this updates as I find more information. Last Month IKNCOP had their Primaries. (Edited: It was brought to my attention that I missed Nevada!)

There were multiple states that held primaries on 7th, 21st, and 28th of June, yes it's taken me some time to compile it all but here ya go: 7th: California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota | 21st: Alabama, Virginia, and Georgia | 28th: Colorado, Illinois, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah!

I am on a journey to ensure that every candidate in the 2022 congressional midterm election is well aware of Bitcoin. My desire is to connect with each one of them and hopefully speak with them directly. If not myself personally as long as I am aware that they are aware - my mission is accomplished.

In addition, my goal is to ensure you are aware of where they stand on Bitcoin and other interesting facts leading into the primary runoffs and general election. This article will provide a high-level look at the primary and the plan is to cover every primary going forward including the general mid-term election.

Bitcoin HODLers

Based on the currently available financial disclosures Candidate Jay Chen (D-CA-45) is the only HODLer of Bitcoin among all states. However, Candidate Rishi Kumar (D-CA-16) advocates for Bitcoin so one would think he is also a HODLer. Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL-2) did list some Crypto; but no Bitcoin. Some have traded stock in publicly traded Crypto companies like COIN and SQ.

Legislation

While the financial disclosures were limited, many members are Sponsors and Co-Sponsors of pending legislation that impacts digital assets:

Sponsors
Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) H.R. 3723 Consumer Safety Technology Act
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) H.R. 4741 Digital Asset Market Structure and Investor Protection Act
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) H.R. 154 RESCUE Act for Black and Community Banks ("Reenergized
Economic Sustainability for Community and Urban Entities Act
for Black and Community Banks”)
Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) H.R. 7391 Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act
Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) H.R. 2211 Central Bank Digital Currency Study Act of 2021
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) S. 4147 Financial Freedom Act
Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) H.R. 3612 Blockchain Promotion Act of 2021
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) S. 4109 National R&D Strategy for Distributed Ledger Technology Act
Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) H.R. 2211 Central Bank Digital Currency Study Act of 2021

Co-Sponsors
Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) H.R. 296 Financial Technology Protection Act
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) & Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) H.R. 1628 Token Taxonomy Act of 2021
Rep. Mike Boast (R-IL), Rep. William Timmons (R-SC), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), & Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) H.R. 6006 Keep Innovation In America Act
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) & Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) H.R. 6727 Keep Your Coins Act
Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ) H.R. 7391 Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act
Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) H.R. 7860 Financial Freedom Act
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) H.R. 8065 National R&D Strategy for Distributed Ledger Technology
Rep. Jesus Garcia (D-IL) and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) H.R. 1030 Automatic Boost to Communities Act
Rep. Jesus Garcia (D-IL) H.R. 7231 Electronic Currency And Secure Currency Act (ECASH) Act
Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) S. 2666 Sanctions and Stop Ransomware Act of 2021
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) S. 2864 N/A
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) & Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) S. 3867 Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act of 2022
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) S. 2543 A bill to require a study on the national security implications of the People's Republic of China's efforts to create an official digital currency
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Sen. Ralph Warnock (D-GA), and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) S. 3666 Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, & Jon Tester* (D-MT) S. 3867 Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act of 2022
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) H.R. 154 RESCUE Act for Black and Community Banks ("Reenergized Economic Sustainability for Community and Urban Entities Act
for Black and Community Banks”)
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) H.R. 8065 National R&D Strategy for Distributed Ledger Technology

I'd be willing to wager that some of these folks are in fact Bitcoin holders but until they provide that on their financial disclosures (and there is a bill (H.R. 7862) in place to make that happen) we won't really know right?

As you can see this is bipartisan with a couple of Democrats sponsoring and co-sponsoring bills. Big thanks to CapHillCrypto for tracking the legislation.

Twitter

In California the most followed candidate is Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-11) [7,460,385]

In Iowa the most followed candidate is Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) [732,733]

In Montana the most followed candidate is Sen. Steve Bullock (D-MT) [50,580]

In New Jersey the most followed candidate is Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) [119,449]

In New Mexico the most followed candidate is Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-NM) [17,695]

In South Dakota the most followed candidate is Sen. John Thune (R-SD) [27,619]

In Alabama the most followed candidate is Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL-7) [53,472]

In Virginia the most followed candidate is Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA-8) [108,674]

In Georgia the most followed candidate is Sen. Raphael Warnock (D.) [1,055,397]

In Colorado the most followed candidate is Sen. Michael Bennet (D.) [312,746]

In Illinois the most followed candidates is Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8) [183,297]

In Mississippi the most followed candidates is Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS-2) [74,284]

In Nebraska the most followed candidates is Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-2.) [20,670]

In Oklahoma the most followed candidates is Sen. James Lankford (R.) [119,690]

In South Carolina the most followed candidates is Rep. James Clybrun (D-SC-6.) [166,919]

In Utah the most followed candidates is Sen. Mike Lee (R.) [644,321]

In Nevada the most followed candidates is Sen. Adam Laxalt (R.) [57,693]

It is interesting to see that the candidates with the most followers are Democrats. In addition, the most followed candidate by far is Sen. Raphael Warnock from Georgia. If you want to see what they are all saying on Twitter, subscribe to this list:

Conclusion

There is a lot of work to be done. While it appears some of these members are definitely tuned in - so many more are NOT. So my quest begins to see if I can connect with these candidates to see what they think about Bitcoin. Join me in reaching out to them and discussing Bitcoin with them.

Let's see if we can get them on Twitter spaces, podcast, YouTube videos to start a conversation about the power Bitcoin can have on their constituents financial future. Lastly, listen to The Breakdown hosted by NLW as he talks about why Bitcoin isn't Apolitical, but it is Nonpartisan.

You can find the results of the primaries on these links:

7th June
16th June
21st June
28th June