Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren won a landslide victory in the Massachusetts Senate over cryptocurrency-friendly Republican John Deaton.
Warren, the most prominent cryptocurrency critic in U.S. politics, has secured 74% of the 145,000 votes cast so far, according to election data from The Associated Press.
The Associated Press requested a vote count when the result was less than 1%.
Massachusetts Senate race results Source: Associated Press
Deaton has served as a U.S. senator since 2013 and was considered a strong candidate against Warren, who was ahead by 20 to 30 percentage points in most opinion polls before the official vote count.
Deaton is a prominent cryptocurrency lawyer who defended XRP (XRP) token holders in Ripple’s long legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Deaton has received significant support from leaders in the cryptocurrency industry, securing $2 million in funding from Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and Ripple.
Warren’s victory marks the beginning of her third term as U.S. Senator.
The Associated Press also said Democrats would win Massachusetts, giving Kamala Harris 11 electoral college votes.
In mid-October, Deaton and Warren faced off in two Senate debates. Deaton accused Warren of building an “anti-crypto army” instead of prioritizing other issues affecting the state’s lower and middle class.
Warren insisted she was “okay” with people who want to buy and sell digital assets but want to make sure the cryptocurrency industry “follows the same rules” as banks and stockbrokers: consumer protection and counterterrorism laws.
Warren faced criticism after introducing the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2023. If passed, the bill would require financial institutions to maintain records and report suspicious cryptocurrency activity to federal regulators to help detect money laundering and terrorist financing activities.
Warren and Deaton agreed that traditional banking had failed many Americans, but they disagreed on how to fix this problem.
Deaton’s loss marks an 11th consecutive year in which Democrats have controlled both Massachusetts seats in the U.S. Senate.
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