Fifty-five million dollars. That is what Fairshake’s allies have put into the Ohio Senate race to defeat Democrat Sherrod Brown, and it is only part of the $68 million of crypto-related money the contest has drawn. Across the country, Public Citizen counts more than $200 million from crypto groups in the 2026 midterms.
Reuters put the figure at roughly $176 million across more than 100 congressional races. Fairshake and its affiliates account for about $150.8 million of that through October 20, and other crypto-backed groups added roughly $25 million. Ultra-wealthy crypto executives gave more than $56 million this cycle. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss gave close to $13 million each, and Winklevoss Capital Fund put $21.3 million into the Digital Freedom Fund.
Ohio and the other targets
The money against Brown runs through Defend American Jobs, Fairshake’s Republican-focused affiliate. It has spent around $66 million this fall to back incumbent senators who supported the CLARITY Act, and more than $55 million of that supports Republican Jon Husted in Ohio. Brown, a longtime crypto critic, lost his seat in 2024 after the industry spent $40 million against him.
Nebraska is the second front. The Fairshake network has spent more than $11 million against independent Dan Osborn, who is challenging Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts.
In the House, Fairshake and its super PACs back 33 candidates, 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats, and have put at least $1 million into each of six incumbents. Fairshake says 53 of the 58 candidates it backed in primaries and special elections won.
Why now
The trigger was September. The CLARITY Act, which would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a larger role over crypto markets, passed the House with 78 Democrats joining Republicans, then stalled in the Senate. Every Senate Democrat voted against advancing it, citing ethics concerns about the Trump family’s crypto holdings. Fairshake then moved to back only Republicans in Senate races.
The partisan tilt shows in OpenSecrets data. In 2022, crypto-linked groups spent more for Democrats than Republicans. This year they have spent $82 million for Republicans and $31 million for Democrats. “This cycle, they’ve spent more than twice as much for Republicans as for Democrats,” said Andrew Mayersohn of OpenSecrets.
Colin McLaren of the Solana Policy Institute called the spending “an investment in the future.” Rules written under Trump could be reversed by a later administration, which is why the industry wants a statute before he leaves office in 2029. Coinbase Vice Chairman Ryan VanGrack said the ultimate goal is to modernize the US financial system.
Reporting on the last week has been hampered. The Federal Election Commission’s electronic filing system went down on Tuesday, reportedly because of a hack, and filings from Fairshake and other crypto super PACs have shown no new spending since Sunday. Voters decide on November 3.
Sources
- $Trump
- FEC Outage Hits Fairshake And Other Crypto Super PAC Filings Before 2026 Midterms: 6 outlets compared | NewsCord
- Crypto Industry's Political Spending Hits $176 Million Ahead of Midterms
- Crypto Went Big for Republicans After Democrats Sank the CLARITY Act
- Crypto election spending hits $176M as Fairshake targets US midterms
- Crypto Industry Has Spent Over $200 Million on the 2026 US Midterms
Photo: Office of Senator Sherrod Brown (Public domain)
