{"id":4591,"date":"2026-06-21T10:38:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T10:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591"},"modified":"2026-06-21T10:38:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T10:38:07","slug":"pro-israel-and-crypto-money-roils-house-democratic-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591","title":{"rendered":"Pro-Israel and crypto money roils House Democratic primary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dark money \u2014 and complaints about it \u2014 have become the central issue in the 24-candidate field to replace Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland).<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Trump wanted out of the Iran war. The aftermath is pulling him back in.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Adrian Boafo, a Maryland state delegate running for Congress, was introduced by Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Maryland), left, at the AmeriPac Bull Roast on June 12 in Mitchellville. (Gail Burton\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

When former House majority leader Steny H. Hoyer (D) announced that he would retire his Maryland seat<\/a> after 45 years, he set off a generational Democratic free-for-all that drew 24 candidates and nearly $11 million tied to cryptocurrency and pro-Israel interests.<\/p>\n

Two political action committees have poured that cash into the primary campaign of Hoyer\u2019s preferred successor<\/a> and former campaign manager, Del. Adrian Boafo. He is the youngest candidate in the field, a former small-town official in Prince George\u2019s County and federal lobbyist for the global technology company Oracle who began the contest with low name recognition.<\/p>\n

The deluge of super PAC spending on his behalf, plowed into ads that mention neither Israel nor crypto, has swamped the chaotic contest.<\/p>\n

It has divided a Maryland congressional delegation that prides itself on unity. And in this deep-blue state where most primaries decide the election, Tuesday\u2019s contest has turned into a fight over whether one of Congress\u2019s longest-serving members should be replaced by someone with the same pro-Israel politics.<\/p>\n

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), one of the fiercest critics<\/a> of the Israeli government in Congress since the war in Gaza, did not endorse in the race but has told voters to \u201cbeware\u201d of outside groups \u201ctrying to buy this congressional seat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see these ads, understand that the organizations running the ads have their own special interests at heart, not the public interests, not the interests of the people of Maryland\u2019s 5th Congressional District,\u201d Van Hollen told reporters he convened to air his complaints.<\/p>\n

He questioned whether Boafo made promises in exchange for the support from donors in the cryptocurrency industry or those affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel group that many Democrats have eschewed since the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Boafo said in an interview that he\u2019s promised nothing and finds the question \u201cextremely insulting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny type of big money in politics is bad,\u201d Boafo said Wednesday in between visiting early-voting centers, where he said no voters asked about outside spending and nearly everyone wanted to talk about affordability.<\/p>\n

Boafo has been more openly supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship than many Maryland liberal groups have, but he has been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As a state lawmaker, he introduced a bill<\/a> that would protect crypto from state-level regulation and promoted a law to study policies<\/a> advantageous to the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpecial interests do not spend that kind of money expecting nothing in return,\u201d said Rushern Baker, a former Prince George\u2019s County executive running against Boafo. \u201cThey want someone who will work for them. Delegate Boafo already has.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker and two more of Boafo\u2019s opponents \u2014 Harry Dunn, a former Capitol Police officer, and Quincy Bareebe, a businesswoman funding her own campaign <\/b>\u2014 held an unusual joint news conference trying to draw attention to the groups behind the ubiquitous ads promoting Boafo. A coalition of progressive groups has cast the race as a referendum on the role of dark money in politics <\/b>because the identity of donors to super PACs is often concealed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they\u2019re going to spend that, they need to tell voters this is why they\u2019re doing it,\u201d said Wala Blegay, a Prince George\u2019s County Council member running in the primary.<\/p>\n

Blegay promoted ceasefire resolutions favored by pro-Palestinian activists, and while she doesn\u2019t disagree much with Boafo on policy or begrudge him high-profile endorsers, it bothers her that voters say they\u2019ve already settled on him because of the ads.<\/p>

Read more For cash-strapped farmers, deal to end Iran fighting comes too late<\/a><\/p>\n

Protect Progress, a super PAC aligned with the cryptocurrency industry, spent more than $5.5 million boosting Boafo. The organization did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

AIPAC, through its United Democracy Project (UDP) PAC, has spent more than any other entity in the race. AIPAC-related organizations have boosted a Maryland Democrat running in a primary for an open House seat for three consecutive cycles, putting more than $4 million each behind Reps. Glenn Ivey in 2022 and Sarah Elfreth in 2024.<\/p>\n

Elfreth\u2019s chief primary opponent two years ago was Dunn, who is now running for Hoyer\u2019s seat. He called the AIPAC-linked funding \u201ca cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

AIPAC\u2019s defenders<\/a> have said critics unfairly single out pro-Israel groups among the many interests that spend to influence politics.<\/p>\n

Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for UDP, declined to say why the organization invested in the race to succeed Hoyer but noted Boafo\u2019s other high-profile endorsers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud to stand with Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and Congressman Steny Hoyer,\u201d Dorton said.<\/p>\n

The AIPAC-linked ads this year highlight those endorsements and Boafo\u2019s professional biography.<\/p>\n

One of the ads paid for by UDP features Hoyer, who has been allied with AIPAC for decades, directly addressing the outside spending.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve probably seen the attacks on Adrian Boafo. Let\u2019s get something straight. Adrian is a man of deep integrity,\u201d Hoyer says. \u201cHe has the courage to stand up to any special interest. I trust him. You can, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The liberal pro-Israel lobbying group J Street accused AIPAC of meddling, \u201cand that should worry all who care about our democracy and about electing leaders who will fight for Palestinians and Israelis alike,\u201d said Tali deGroot, one of the group\u2019s vice presidents.<\/p>\n

In addition to the nearly $11 million in pro-Israel and crypto interest, Boafo is boosted by $1.1 million in other PAC money, including $600,000 from Hoyer\u2019s PAC.<\/p>\n

Super PACs aligned with crypto, artificial intelligence and AIPAC have emerged as some of the biggest spenders in congressional races this year. Maryland, where UDP has spent $4.5 million on television ads, is one of five states where the super PAC has aired ads in this cycle, according to the political tracking firm AdImpact.<\/p>\n

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), like Van Hollen, has not endorsed a primary candidate but said the spending in the open House district illustrates why so many progressives want to change campaign finance laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future could hold a scenario where a handful of extremely wealthy special interest groups bankroll the key races in the country,\u201d Raskin said in an interview. \u201cThere\u2019s so much money out there.\u201d<\/p>

Read more A \u2018nasty\u2019 new front in Tennessee, and Jeffery Simmons is ready to live in the backfield<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dark money \u2014 and complaints about it \u2014 have become the central issue in the 24-candidate field to replace Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nPro-Israel and crypto money roils House Democratic primary - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pro-Israel and crypto money roils House Democratic primary - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dark money \u2014 and complaints about it \u2014 have become the central issue in the 24-candidate field to replace Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland).\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-21T10:38:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ee17f80cf90d3ce34df9c8fab96d4fc6-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1703\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Pro-Israel and crypto money roils House Democratic primary\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-21T10:38:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591\"},\"wordCount\":1122,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/64e46f247ac28cde070d142bc4a469b3-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591\",\"name\":\"Pro-Israel and crypto money roils House Democratic primary - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/64e46f247ac28cde070d142bc4a469b3-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-21T10:38:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/64e46f247ac28cde070d142bc4a469b3-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/64e46f247ac28cde070d142bc4a469b3-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1704},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4591#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pro-Israel and crypto money roils House Democratic primary\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving Insider USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pro-Israel and crypto money roils House Democratic primary - Moving Insider USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pro-Israel and crypto money roils House Democratic primary - Moving Insider USA","og_description":"Dark money \u2014 and complaints about it \u2014 have become the central issue in the 24-candidate field to replace Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland).","og_url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591","og_site_name":"Moving Insider USA","article_published_time":"2026-06-21T10:38:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1703,"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ee17f80cf90d3ce34df9c8fab96d4fc6-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"headline":"Pro-Israel and crypto money roils House Democratic primary","datePublished":"2026-06-21T10:38:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591"},"wordCount":1122,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/64e46f247ac28cde070d142bc4a469b3-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591","name":"Pro-Israel and crypto money roils House Democratic primary - Moving Insider USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/64e46f247ac28cde070d142bc4a469b3-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-21T10:38:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/64e46f247ac28cde070d142bc4a469b3-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/64e46f247ac28cde070d142bc4a469b3-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1704},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4591#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pro-Israel and crypto money roils House Democratic primary"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/","name":"Moving Insider USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}