At least two crypto-aligned political action committees have now spent more than $52 million opposing Sherrod Brown’s return to the US Senate in Ohio, according to filings submitted Thursday to the Federal Election Commission.
Defend American Jobs, an affiliate of Fairshake that backs Republican candidates in primaries and general elections, reported $46.6 million in media spending against former lawmaker Sherrod Brown and in support of Republican incumbent Jon Husted in Ohio’s Senate race for the 2026 midterms. That figure is more than 50% above the $30 million Fairshake said in September it initially planned to spend to oppose Brown.
Fairshake is largely funded by Coinbase and Ripple Labs. The increased outlay comes in what could become a pivotal race for control of Congress in 2026.
Speaking in an interview aired Friday on Pod Save America, Brown addressed the attack ads funded by the crypto industry and said, “I’ve spent my career taking on Wall Street, taking on big pharma, taking on big oil and been successful in many cases.”
With just under three weeks until the US election, early voting in Ohio had already been underway for 10 days. Fairshake was not the only crypto-backed group stepping up activity as ballots were being cast. The Digital Freedom Fund, a Super PAC created by Gemini co-founders Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss, reported about $3 million in ad spending this week to oppose Brown and support Husted. That brought the group’s total media purchases in the Ohio race to more than $5.9 million.
Fairshake’s spending has already moved past its 2024 Ohio campaign, when it spent $41 million backing Republican Bernie Moreno and opposing Brown, who was then running for reelection. Brown, a Democratic lawmaker, chaired the Senate Banking Committee and was one of the more outspoken congressional critics of laws and policies favored by the crypto industry.
Ohio is not Fairshake’s only target
As the midterms approach, Fairshake is also spending outside Ohio. Defend American Jobs reported more than $6.7 million in spending against independent candidate Dan Osborn in Nebraska’s Senate race. Osborn is running against Republican Pete Ricketts, who voted in favor of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act while in office.
Cointelegraph said it contacted Fairshake and Husted’s campaign for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
2026 elections and crypto policy
Fairshake has publicly said it intends to “back pro-crypto candidates” in 2026 as part of a broader effort to fill the next Congress with lawmakers who support policies favored by the industry. In January, the PAC reported holding $193 million in cash on hand ahead of the elections.
Other groups tied to crypto interests have also been active. The Fellowship committee, backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, reported spending more than $11 million between August 2025 and August 2026, mostly on media support for House and Senate candidates.