Cryptocurrency advocate, attorney John Deaton weighing run against Elizabeth Warren

A cryptocurrency advocate and attorney is “eyeing” a run as a Republican against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, marking the first potential major challenger the Cambridge Democrat could face this election cycle, according to a person close to the possible candidate.

John Deaton, a former U.S. Marine and lawyer for Deaton Law, is considering running against Warren, a move that would give national and local Republicans a person to take on the high profile senator. Deaton’s challenge would also give someone from the crypto industry a chance to challenge one of its main detractors.

Jim Conroy, who once managed former Gov. Charlie Baker’s gubernatorial campaign, said he is advising Deaton about the possible Senate run and confirmed the attorney is weighing his options.

“He should decide in the near future,” Conroy said.

Deaton is also ready to fund his campaign with an initial $500,000, Conroy said. Warren had nearly $4 million in her campaign war chest, according to federal election filings last updated Dec. 31, 2023.

A spokesperson for Warren said the senator is “taking nothing for granted.”

“She has a strong record of delivering for working families and continues to fight hard for the people of Massachusetts,” the spokesperson said.

MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said she has met with Deaton several times, had “good conversations about Senator Warren’s vulnerability,” encouraged him to run, and looks forward to him making a final decision “in the coming days.”

“I think she’s yet to be challenged by a candidate who can really present a strong difference in terms of trying to represent people in Massachusetts who are just trying to get by and make a living and deal with things like affordability in our state,” Carnevale told the Herald. “That’s a big issue where Senator Warren is not providing leadership for people in Massachusetts.”

Warren easily beat Republican Geoff Diehl in her last re-election campaign in 2018. Diehl, who would later go on to run an unsuccessful gubernatorial bid against Gov. Maura Healey, lost with 36% of the vote compared to Warren’s 60%, according to state data.

The Boston Globe first reported Deaton’s interest.

A Detroit-native, Deaton describes himself as someone who was born in the city’s worst neighborhood but “became a fighter, with violence becoming second nature,” the summary of his memoir titled “Food Stamp Warrior” said.

Deaton joined the Marine Corps in law school and in 1994, was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He served as a federal prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney for seven years of active duty, according to a biography on his law firm’s website.

He graduated from the New England School of Law in 1995 and Eastern Michigan University in 1989. He founded East Providence-based Deaton Law Firm in 2006, which advertises on its website help to people suffering from Mesothelioma and asbestos, and is the founder of the information site CryptoLaw.

Deaton appears to be no fan of Warren, and even expressed “regret” that he had not bought a house he had looked at in Rehoboth in 2014. In an Oct. 2023 post, he said he lived in Barrington, Rhode Island but Conroy said Deaton moved to Swansea this year.

In a Dec. 7, 2023 social media post, Deaton questioned whether he still had time to buy a home in Massachusetts, move to the state, and run “against this government overreach hack in 2024.”

“I’m a Massachusetts lawyer and have practiced in Massachusetts for over 15 years. I live in Rhode Island, less than six miles from Seekonk, Massachusetts. I’m not suggesting I would win, but how I would love to confront her,” he wrote in the post on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

In an April social media post, Deaton again said he wished he “would’ve bought a house in Massachusetts.”

“Outside of campaigning, these career politicians haven’t created one job.  (Warren) hasn’t taken out a home equity line of credit in order to make payroll during down times. She believes the answer to everything is government,” he wrote on X.