Progressive senator and staunch crypto skeptic Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) claimed on Tuesday that a well-funded member of the “crypto lobby” is vying to displace her from her seat on Capitol Hill.
As reported by Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terret, a source received an email from Warren’s campaign team claiming that she’s “not afraid” of the new challenge, but will “need to prepare” to compete against such powerful interest groups.
New Challenger For Elizabeth Warren
“Ever since I began speaking out about protecting consumers from crypto scams and making that industry follow the same basic regulations as banks and all other financial institutions, the crypto lobby has put a target on my back,” Warren wrote in a recent letter to followers.
🚨SCOOP: @SenWarren is RALLYING her donor base in anticipation of a challenge to her Massachusetts Senate seat from a pro-#crypto candidate.
In an email sent to me by a source who received it, Warren directly addresses the @BostonGlobe report speculating that @JohnEDeaton1 will… pic.twitter.com/NuEBSp1924
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) February 19, 2024
Her letter specifically addressed a recent report from the Boston Globe claiming that Massachusetts newcomer John Deaton would be launching a Republican bid against Warren, backed by $500,000 of his own money.
Deaton, who boasts over 317,000 followers on Twitter, is best known as a crypto-supportive litigator who defended over 75,000 XRP holders during Ripple’s years-long lawsuit with regulators that came to a close last year.
He was also a vocal supporter of Grayscale in its lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), often suggesting that the agency acted in bad faith against crypto at large.
Warren, by contrast, has repeatedly characterized crypto as a tool for money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion. She has now tabled multiple pieces of legislation that would subject average Bitcoin node operators to reporting requirements that industry experts say would be infeasible to follow.
First, it was schoolyard bullies, then it was greedy corporations and the SEC, and now I am taking on the Washington elites. https://t.co/XxW0M7kkw9 pic.twitter.com/adJVbz4tyn
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) February 20, 2024
Does John Deaton Represent The Working Class?
Following an official campaign announcement from Deaton on Tuesday, Senator Warren made a second plea to followers for donations, emphasizing that it would “take a strong grassroots movement to compete and win.”
“We’re up against MAGA Republicans who are desperate to take back the Senate and pass Trump’s agenda,” she added. “We’re up against their rich buddies who are trying to stop us from taxing the wealthy, regulating big banks, and making our government work for working people.”
Contrary to Warren’s depiction, Deaton said in his Tuesday campaign video that he grew up in poverty in Detroit, raised by a single mom on welfare.
“I fought for the little guy,” Deaton said. “I took on the greedy corporations and the heartless insurance companies and I won.”
1Elizabeth Warren, well she promised to be a champion for those in need,” he added. “Instead, she gives lectures and plays politics and gets nothing done for Massachusetts.”