Deaton's do-over: GOP Senate nominee makes nonpartisan pitch
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John Deaton wants voters to know he's no MAGA Republican. Photo: Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
John Deaton — lawyer, crypto millionaire, Marine veteran and would-be Republican Cinderella story — is back for another election cycle running for U.S. Senate.
Why it matters: This time, he's trying to reinvent — or at least reintroduce — himself to Massachusetts voters he thinks might be hungry for a more nonpartisan senator.
What he's saying now: "F the Republican party. F the Democrat party. They all suck," Deaton declared during his one-on-one debate against Rep. Seth Moulton on WBZ last month.
State of play: After a wide, but not too embarrassing, 60%-40% loss to Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2024, Deaton cleared the field for the GOP nomination this time around and will face either Moulton or incumbent Sen. Ed Markey in November.
- This cycle, he's once again casting himself as a pragmatic outsider frustrated with both parties, but now Deaton is aligning himself even further from President Trump and the MAGA movement.
Deaton told Axios he has not committed to supporting a Republican for Senate leader next year if he's elected.
- Instead, Deaton said he'd consider members of either party for leadership.
- This could have a huge impact if control of the Senate depends on a single vote.
Catch up quick: Deaton launched his political career in 2024 with one goal in mind: unseating Warren, public enemy No. 1 for crypto activists like himself.
- He worked with crypto holders after the SEC sued Ripple in 2020, eventually representing more than 75,000 token holders worldwide.
- That made him a folk hero in crypto circles and he founded CryptoLaw in 2021 as a hub for crypto legal and regulatory news.
- He's estimated his crypto and legal settlement wealth around $20 million.
Deaton, 59, grew up in poverty in Highland Park, Michigan. He joined the Marines during law school, later working as a federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney.
- He's a cancer survivor and father of three daughters. He founded his own firm in East Providence, Rhode Island, in 2006, after litigating asbestos and product liability cases.
Between the lines: Instead of a clear target like Warren, Deaton has to wait for the Sept. 1 Democratic primary to see if he'll face Markey or Moulton.
- Oddsmakers give him a better shot against Markey, the 80-year-old liberal institution who's been in Congress since 1976, than Moulton, 47, who's more moderate and shares a background in the Marines.