Crypto's Grading Curve Hits the Senate: Stand With Crypto Picks Its Midterms Fight 🗳️

Stand With Crypto, the advocacy organization launched by Coinbase in 2023, unveiled its first slate of US Senate endorsements on Wednesday, backing Republican Jon Husted in Ohio, Republican Ashley Hinson in Iowa and Democrat Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, alongside House picks including Iowa Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Alabama Democrat Shomari Figures. The endorsements arrive roughly 34 days before the midterm elections and two weeks after the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act failed to advance in the Senate, a defeat Stand With Crypto has framed as a turning point for how it will weigh lawmakers in upcoming races.

The group's new Senate slate targets three contests viewed as pivotal for the industry's legislative agenda. Husted is defending his seat against Democrat Sherrod Brown, the former Senate Banking Committee chair and longtime crypto critic whose return would hand skeptics a powerful voice on the committee that oversees the sector. Hinson is running for a Senate seat in Iowa, while Pappas is competing in New Hampshire against former Republican Sen. John Sununu. The organization said its endorsements are determined by candidates' crypto policy positions "regardless of party." On the House side, the group said it would ramp up advertising in six campaigns, building on a previous August round that endorsed 32 House incumbents it called "proven digital asset policy champions."

The timing follows the Senate's Sept. 15 cloture vote on the CLARITY Act, which failed 49-50 with Democrats voting as a bloc over concerns related to President Donald Trump's crypto dealings. After that defeat, Stand With Crypto warned of "consequences" for lawmakers who did not support the bill and said senators' votes would be added to its public scorecard. The CLARITY Act had passed the House with bipartisan support in 2025. Cointelegraph reached out to Stand With Crypto for clarification on its Husted endorsement but did not receive an immediate response.

Stand With Crypto does not make direct campaign contributions, instead focusing on voter mobilization and grading candidates through its Voter Hub. Executive Director Mason Lynaugh has said the group's more than three million advocates are now fully focused on electing pro-crypto candidates. Candidates rated highly by the organization often draw funding from industry-aligned political action committees (PACs). The Fairshake PAC, a group largely backed by contributions from Coinbase, Ripple Labs and Andreessen Horowitz, recently launched a $30 million spending campaign against Brown and had spent $82 million on candidates across the country as of June. Combined crypto-aligned political spending has approached roughly $200 million for the 2026 cycle, and outside groups spent more than $300 million in Ohio during the 2024 Senate race in which Brown lost to Republican Bernie Moreno.