Fairshake Crosses $40M Mark in Ohio Anti-Brown Blitz, Brings Senate Crypto Fight to a Boil 🏦

Fairshake, the cryptocurrency industry's largest political action committee, has reported fresh spending to defeat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, lifting its total outlay against the former Senate Banking Committee chairman beyond $40 million. A filing with the Federal Election Commission, signed Oct. 15, shows Defend American Jobs, the Fairshake affiliate that operates in Republican-leaning contests, disclosed a $5.2 million media buy opposing Brown, followed by an additional roughly $1.95 million buy days later, plus media-production costs. The filing lists Brown's calendar-year-to-date total at about $46.66 million, making the Ohio contest the most expensive target of the crypto industry's 2026 campaign.

The same filing documented parallel spending supporting Brown's Republican opponent, Jon Husted, who inherited the seat after his appointment last year. The sums far outpace what Fairshake is spending elsewhere, underscoring the personal stakes the industry has assigned to the race. The PAC had earlier indicated plans to spend at least $30 million against Brown, a figure the new filing shows it has already exceeded. Brown's return to the Senate would place a prominent crypto skeptic on the Banking Committee, the same position from which he stalled market-structure legislation before his 2024 defeat, a loss Fairshake spent roughly $40 million to help engineer.

The renewed Senate offensive follows the PAC network's expansion into House contests. On Oct. 5, Fairshake announced support for 32 House incumbents, 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats, describing itself as an issue-focused organization backing "pro-crypto candidates who support American innovation in both parties." It committed an initial $6 million, or $1 million each, to six of them: Republicans French Hill, Bill Huizenga and Bryan Steil, and Democrats Janelle Bynum, Steven Horsford and Derek Tran. All 32 voted to advance the Clarity Act when it passed the House in July 2025.

Fairshake, funded largely by Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz, entered September with roughly $120 million in cash and is projected to spend more than $100 million across House and Senate contests this cycle. The push coincides with advocacy efforts from the Coinbase-backed group Stand With Crypto, which has rolled out its own slate of midterm endorsements. The spending reflects the industry's response to the Clarity Act's stall in the Senate, directing its resources toward reshaping the Congress that will determine crypto's regulatory framework.