REMINDER: JOHN DEATON CARPET BAGGER

 
WARREN BUFFETT HAS CALLED CRYPTO 'RAT POISON SQUARED' 

SCRUTINIZE ANY CANDIDATE BEFORE SUPPORTING AS WELL AS THEIR 

FUNDING 

SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN'S SUPPORT IS FROM GRASSROOTS DONORS

SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN HAS SPOKEN OUT ABOUT BANKING REGULATIONS, 
MEGA BANKS, THE FEDERAL RESERVE AND MUCH ELSE

JOHN DEATON VOTED 3 TIMES IN 20 YEARS, NEVER HELD PUBLIC OFFICE 

JOHN DEATON HAS NO TIES OR COMMITMENT TO MASSACHUSETTS 

JUST ANOTHER CARPET BAGGER!

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Warren’s (likely) GOP challenger

CRYPTO ENTERS THE SENATE RACE CHAT — A cryptocurrency advocate and attorney is likely to challenge Sen. Elizabeth Warren, giving Republicans a standard-bearer against the prominent progressive and the digital-assets industry a conduit through which to take on Congress’ chief crypto critic.

John Deaton is prepared to seed his campaign with $500,000 should he run, a person familiar with his plans told Playbook.

Deaton is a virtual unknown in Massachusetts political circles. But he comes onto the scene with a hardscrabble backstory and a crypto fanbase. A former U.S. Marine who hails from a Detroit enclave, Deaton overcame an impoverished childhood to graduate law school. He started his own firm in Rhode Island representing asbestos victims. He is the father of three daughters, a cancer survivor and the author of a memoir, “Food Stamp Warrior." The Boston Globe first reported his interest in the race.

He telegraphed a potential run against Warren last year, writing in a post on X last October that his “biggest regret” at that moment was not buying a house he had looked at in Massachusetts instead of his residence in Barrington, Rhode Island.

“Had I bought the Massachusetts house, I would [100 percent] run against this [gaslighting], self serving, hypocrite,” he wrote in response to an article about Warren expressing concerns about Hamas raising money through crypto before attacking Israel on Oct. 7.

Deaton now lives in Swansea , according to Jim Conroy, a political adviser to former GOP Gov. Charlie Baker who is consulting with Deaton on his possible campaign. He would run as a Republican, Conroy said.

He would be a longshot against Warren , who remains popular in this state — roughly 54 percent of respondents to a recent Suffolk University survey approved of her job performance, compared to 35 percent who disapproved. She's also a formidable fundraiser who started the election year with $3.9 million in the bank.

But Republicans hope Warren , who finished third in her home state’s 2020 presidential primary and has seen lower approval ratings in other polls, is weaker than she seems.

And she could face a flood of crypto money if Deaton gets in . While Conroy said Deaton wouldn’t be basing his candidacy around his cryptocurrency advocacy, he already has a track record of criticizing Warren’s views on digital assets and could win the backing of an industry that is trying to fight Warren in Washington over her proposals to subject it to tougher anti-money-laundering rules.

The industry is also ramping up an aggressive effort to influence the 2024 elections. A crypto-backed super PAC that has more than $80 million in the bank placed a multimillion-dollar ad buy this week attacking Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, a Warren protégé, in California’s U.S. Senate primary.

Deaton’s crypto cred could also help attract support — and money — from corners of the GOP aligned with the digital asset industry. In Ohio, a pro-crypto challenger to Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, another industry critic, was endorsed by the conservative Club for Growth in part thanks to his stance on digital assets and blockchain.

A spokesperson for Warren said the state's senior senator is “taking nothing for granted” and “has a strong track record of delivering for working families and continues to fight hard for the people of Massachusetts.”