Affiliates of the Fair Shake Political Action Committee (PAC), funded by Coinbase and Ripple Labs, have increased their initial announced spending by more than 50% in what could be a key race for control of Congress in 2026.
According to Thursday’s filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), FairShake’s affiliate Defend American Jobs — a group that supports Republican candidates in primaries and elections. expense The former lawmaker has spent $46.6 million on media opposing Sherrod Brown and is supporting Republican incumbent Jon Husted in Ohio’s Senate race for the 2026 midterm elections. The spending grew faster than what Fairshack said in September he initially planned to spend on opposing Brown’s recall in the Senate: $30 million.
“I spent my career on Wall Street, took on big pharma, took on big oil and was successful in many ways.” said Brown in an interview that aired on Friday Pod Save AmericaAddressing the attack ads funded by the crypto industry, added:
“Jon Husted is their guy (…) they know he’s their guy, they know I’m going to hold him accountable and I think it’s a perfect storm, so they spend literally tens and millions of dollars.”
With just three weeks left in the US election, early voting in Ohio has been going on for 10 days. Notably, FairShake’s affiliate wasn’t the only crypto-aligned PAC to raise spending by Ohio voters using their right to vote. The Digital Freedom Fund, a super PAC created by Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Reported About $3 million in advertising was spent this week opposing Brown and supporting Husted, bringing the group’s total media buy in the Ohio race to more than $5.9 million.
Fairshake’s spending has already surpassed its efforts in 2024, when the PAC spent $41 million to support Republican Bernie Moreno and oppose Brown, who was then running for Senate re-election. The Democratic lawmaker chaired the Senate Banking Committee and was one of the more outspoken voices challenging laws and policies favored by the crypto industry while serving in Congress.
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The Ohio race isn’t Fairshake’s only focus as the midterm elections approach. Defend American jobs. Reported Independent candidates are spending more than $6.7 million to oppose Dan Osborne in Nebraska’s Senate race. Osborne is running against Republican Pete Ricketts, who while in office voted for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act.
Cointelegraph reached out to Fairshake and Husted’s campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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Fairshake has been open about its intention to “back pro-crypto candidates” in 2026 with the goal of filling the next session of Congress with lawmakers who favor policies favored by the industry. The PAC reported in January that it had $193 million in cash before the election.
In addition to PACs like Fairshake and the Digital Freedom Fund, other groups aligned with crypto interests have already tried to influence 2026 voters. Fellowship Committee, supported by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital. Reported Spent more than $11 million between August 2025 and August 2026, mostly supporting House and Senate candidates in the media.
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