John Deaton Seeks $500,000 Donations as Pro-XRP Lawyer Seeks to Unseat Elizabeth Warren

Key Takeaways

• John Deaton is hoping to raise $1 million for his Senate campaign by March 31.
• The crypto lawyer is known for his commentary on the Ripple vs SEC case.
• If he wins the Republican nomination, Deaton will face the incumbent Senator Elizabeth Warren in the Massachusetts race.

When he launched his Massachusetts Senate campaign last month lawyer John Deaton made it clear that he plans to usurp the Democratic incumbent Elizabeth Warren.

But compared to the campaign veteran Warren, who has an estimated $3.9 million in her election war chest and a track record for raising much more when she needs to, Deaton is severely underfunded.

Financial Obstacles to Deaton’s Senate Bid

It is an unavoidable fact of the political system that votes cost money – television advertising, billboards and rallies aren’t cheap. 

Unfortunately for Deaton, Senate races are typically much more expensive than House contests. 

Assuming he manages to beat five other hopefuls  and secure his position on the Republican ticket, Deaton will still need to overcome the large fundraising gap that typically separates Republican and Democratic candidates.

If he does win the nomination, the attorney will face off against an incumbent who raised over $40 million during her inaugural senate campaign in 2012. While Warren’s fundraising efforts were more reserved in 2018, she nonetheless walked away with over 60% of the vote.

Seeking Donations to Take on Elizabeth Warren

In contrast with Warren’s more established campaign finance network, Deaton has never run for elected office. Furthermore, he doesn’t have a base of supporters he can rely on for donations. But as his campaign gets into gear, he is hoping to build to build one.

In a video appealing for donations, Deaton said:“I put in $500,000 of my own money to start this campaign.” He added:

“If I could self-fund, trust me I would, because freedom is on the line. But the truth is I can’t so I need your help […] to raise $1 million before March 31.”

Ripple Supporters Back Senate Hopeful

While he may be a political newcomer, Deaton well-known among the XRP community.

Throughout Ripple’s ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Deaton has emerged as a leading commentator, providing insight and analysis to his hundreds of thousands of social media followers. 

Several prominent figures in the crypto space have already donated to Deaton’s campaign. These incluse Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson and former Ethereum advisor Steven Nerayoff.

Meanwhile, having taken charge of what critics dub an oppressive congressional crackdown on the digital asset industry, Senator Elizabeth Warren has made plenty of enemies in the crypto sector.