Incumbent Democratic Representative Brad Sherman, widely regarded as one of Washington's most outspoken critics of cryptocurrency, is confronting a meaningful primary challenge from Jake Levine, a candidate who holds a far more favorable view of the digital asset industry.
California's 32nd congressional district is considered a reliably Democratic seat, and Sherman has leaned heavily into his anti-crypto record as a central pillar of his re-election campaign.
The "Safe" Seat
Sherman is broadly expected to retain his seat in CA-32. He holds a commanding lead in the race and enjoys a significant cash advantage over his challenger. Nevertheless, Levine has mounted a notable primary effort, positioning himself as a voice for new generational leadership in Congress.
Levine previously served as a national security official at the White House and held the role of chief climate officer for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation during the prior administration. His campaign has centered on local concerns, including reducing utility costs and expanding affordable housing.
Sherman's Anti-Crypto Crusade
Sherman has spent years sharply criticizing the digital asset industry and remains one of the loudest anti-crypto voices on Capitol Hill. He has targeted individual cryptocurrencies, including claiming that XRP qualifies as a security.
Decentralized finance entrepreneur Robert Leshner has described Sherman as having acted as former SEC Chair Gary Gensler's "handler in Congress" and characterized him as "as hostile an opponent as crypto can have in the house."
Leshner recently noted on X that Sherman is going "scorched-earth" on Levine because he is genuinely worried about being primaried. What makes Sherman's aggressive posture particularly striking, Leshner observed, is the near-total absence of actual crypto industry involvement in the race. Leshner stated that "not a dime" from crypto PACs has been spent to support Levine, yet Sherman is preemptively wielding the industry as a political bogeyman.
Sherman has distributed at least three campaign mailers focused explicitly on cryptocurrency. The mailers assert that crypto poses a "systemic threat, enabling criminals and human-rights abusers" and explicitly claim that "Crypto is bankrolling Sherman's opponent" — despite no evidence of meaningful crypto PAC spending in the contest.
Leshner commented on the situation in a May 26, 2026 post on X: "Brad Sherman just put out THREE mailers about crypto specifically, without naming his opponent @jakeclevine so I wouldn't say its absent in the race so far, he's using it as a bogeyman yet again."
Sherman remains heavily favored to advance through the June 2nd top-two primary, but his unusually aggressive campaigning suggests he is taking the challenge more seriously than the polling margins might indicate.
Why it matters
Sherman's decision to distribute at least three mailers explicitly targeting crypto — while no crypto PAC money has reportedly been spent to support his challenger — illustrates how the digital asset industry can become a campaign issue even when it is not directly involved in a race.
The race highlights a broader tension in Democratic politics: incumbents with long anti-crypto records are beginning to face primary pressure from candidates who take a more favorable view of the industry, even in seats considered safe.
Sherman's aggressive posture toward a challenger who has not received meaningful crypto industry backing suggests that the mere association with crypto-friendly positions can be enough to trigger a defensive campaign response from an incumbent.
