By Harshawn Ratanpal for OpenSecrets.
Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for West Virginia News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboration

The race to replace Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has heated up since the 76-year-old moderate announced he won't be running for reelection.

Outside groups have spent $4 million on the Republican primary since Manchin's Nov. 9 announcement, more than triple what they spent in the seven months before. In total, super PACs have spent over $5.1 million on the race so far.

Rep. Alex Mooney and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice are both running for the Republican nomination. The general election was ranked a toss-up by the Cook Political Report before Manchin's exit but has since turned into a solid red seat, meaning the winner of the Republican primary is favored to win the general election too. While there have not been any polls since Manchin's announcement, the latest from Emerson College predicted in October that Justice would outperform Mooney.

Last week, a previously inactive super PAC called Defend American Jobs dropped $1.5 million into the race on a media buy for Justice. The group raised $4.7 million last year, according to OpenSecrets' analysis of a campaign finance disclosure filed Jan. 29. Coinbase and Ripple Labs, two cryptocurrency companies, each contributed $1.5 million. Another $1.5 million was contributed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Defend American Jobs is affiliated with Fairshake, a Florida-based crypto-focused super PAC that has spent money supporting both Democrats and Republicans in over a dozen House races across the country late last year. On Jan. 31, Fairshake disclosed to the Federal Election Commission that it had $67 million on hand at the start 2024. The group gave $150,000 to Defend American Jobs last year.

Fairshake's website says it "supports candidates committed to securing the United States as the home to innovators building the next generation of the internet," and Axios reports an operative of the group says it supports candidates who are "pro-innovate, pro-responsible regulation, pro-crypto, pro-blockchain technology."

The only public action or statement by Justice regarding cryptocurrency seems to be in 2017, when the then-Democrat Justice signed a bill into law that defined cryptocurrency and made it illegal to use it to launder money in West Virginia.

Despite the recent spending surge for Justice, Mooney has received more support from super PACs in total. Since April, groups have spent $2.7 million supporting the five-term representative or opposing the governor, with $1.6 million of that spent between Manchin's November announcement and the end of 2023.

Conservative advocacy group Club for Growth is the top spender boosting Mooney with $2.1 million supporting him or opposing Justice. The group announced last July that its super PAC and the Protect Freedom PAC had raised more than $13 million to support Mooney's bid for Senate.

Mooney is also endorsed by the Senate Conservatives Fund, which has spent $220,000 supporting him.

Justice has attracted much less super PAC support, especially before Manchin dropped out. Before November, the only outside spending supporting Justice was $75,000 from More Jobs, Less Government, a super PAC that has primarily spent money on races in Montana. Its top donor last election cycle was the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC dedicated to electing Republicans to the House of Representatives.

After Manchin's announcement, Justice garnered support from the Conservative Americans PAC, a group that received millions from conservative dark money groups ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. The Conservative Americans PAC was called a "pop-up" super PAC in 2022, as it launched shortly before many races, allowing it to forgo disclosing its donors until after multiple primaries. The group spent $883,000 supporting Justice and opposing Mooney in the last two months of 2023.

Justice's campaign committee raised more money than Mooney's during 2023. But by the end of the year, Mooney had more money on hand than Justice because he transferred over $1 million from his House campaign committee. If Justice needs more cash, he could dip into his own wealth, which he did in both his 2016 and 2020 runs for governor.



Harshawn Ratanpal wrote this story for OpenSecrets.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.


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Buying a used car can be a risky proposition, but a new consumer guide can help people avoid common pitfalls.

The nonprofit Oregon Consumer Justice just released the first edition of its free resource, called the Consumer Confidence Comics. The unique guide doubles as an interactive comic book with coloring pages.

Michelle Luedtke, communications director for Oregon Consumer Justice, describes it as a fun way to learn how to ask the right questions.

"When you get promises from a dealer, where do you capture those to make sure that they'll be part of your final contract?" Luedtke asked. "We have a checklist of different questions to ask at a dealer about purchasing a used car. You can also download as a resource on our website."

The guide is available in English and Spanish.

Used car prices shot up during the pandemic but have come down a bit in the last year, with the average used car selling for about $31,000, according to iseecars.com.

Luedtke also recommended taking the time to read the fine print on any contracts. The guide goes through the process from start to finish.

"Whether or not you should be looking for financing beforehand, or what dealer financing looks like? What are scams that are common around purchasing a vehicle," Luedtke outlined. "And then also, what to do if things go wrong."

In Oregon, used car dealers have 14 days to finalize the financing, so you could drive it off the lot and then have to return it if the loan falls through. Consumers are advised not to make any changes to the car until they get a welcome letter from their lender.

In 2022, Americans purchased about 39 million used vehicles.

Buying a used car can be a risky proposition but a new consumer guide can help people avoid common pitfalls.

The nonprofit Oregon Consumer Justice just released the first edition of its free resource called the Consumer Confidence Comics. The unique guide doubles as an interactive comic book with coloring pages.

Michelle Luedtke, communications director for Oregon Consumer Justice, said it is a fun way to learn how to ask the right questions.

"When you get promises from a dealer, where do you capture those to make sure that they'll be part of your final contract?" Luedtke asked. "We have a checklist of different questions to ask at a dealer about purchasing a used car, you can also download as a resource on our website."

The guide is available in English and Spanish. Used car prices shot up during the pandemic but have come down a bit in the last year, with the average used car selling for about $31,000, according to iseecars.com.

Luedtke also recommended taking the time to read the fine print on any contracts. The guide goes through the process from start to finish.

"Whether or not you should be looking for financing beforehand, or what dealer financing looks like? What are scams that are common around purchasing a vehicle," Luedtke outlined. "And then also what to do if things go wrong."

In 2022, Americans purchased about 39 million used vehicles. The website Statista projects used car dealers in California will pull in about $11.7 billion in revenue this year.

The federal SNAP program allows nearly 1.3 million Ohio families to put food on the table -- but increasingly, when many recipients attempt to use their card at a store, they are told they do not have enough funds.

At grocery and convenience stores across the state, fraudsters are installing illegal skimming devices capable of reading cards as they are swiped and using the card data to steal money.

Alisha Love, an EBT card user, said she has been a victim of EBT theft more than once. She believes the state and federal government should invest in chip security for SNAP to better protect people relying on the program.

"I haven't even gotten reimbursed for the first one, and I'm working with Legal Aid right now," Love pointed out. "My kids need money to eat. Right now I am using cash, and it is bleeding me dry from all the finances."

The Ohio benefits office recommends SNAP recipients change their pin number immediately after they suspect being scammed and replace their EBT card by calling 1-866-386-3071.

This year, 44 states have reported more than 160,000 cases of fraudulent EBT card transactions.

Phaleys Lopez, an EBT card user, said being scammed prevented her from being able to buy formula for her infant son.

"I always buy the formula for my son with the EBT," Lopez explained. "That specific Gerber, I can only buy it with the EBT or cash. I ask the father of my son to buy some when I can't."

Hope Lane-Gavin, director of nutrition policy and programs for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, said victims of EBT card skimming typically have no choice but to turn to food banks to feed their families, and pantries are already struggling to keep up with demand.

"These are people who have applied, have followed the rules, have been approved for the benefit, who then got their card and are doing everything normal," Lane-Gavin emphasized. "Everything that they're supposed to do."

EBT card users who suspect they've been scammed can request replacement benefits within 90 days from the date they were stolen, by either mailing or hand-delivering a signed Job and Family Services form to a local county Job and Family Service office. Gavin added a temporary fix allowing victims of EBT theft to receive replacement benefits will expire on Sept. 30, without additional action by Congress.