Crypto-Backed PACs Surge Spending in Critical 2026 Senate Race in Ohio

According to filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission on Thursday, Defend American Jobs—a Fairshake-affiliated group supporting Republican candidates—has spent $46.6 million on media campaigns opposing former senator Sherrod Brown and backing the incumbent Republican senator Jon Husted in Ohio’s 2026 midterm Senate race. This amount significantly surpasses the $30 million originally announced by Fairshake in September for efforts to defeat Brown’s Senate comeback.

"Throughout my career, I've taken on Wall Street, big pharma, and major oil companies, often with success," Sherrod Brown said during a Friday interview on Pod Save America, responding to crypto-funded attack ads. He added, "Jon Husted is their man [...] They know he supports them, they know I intend to hold him accountable, and evidently, that’s created the perfect storm prompting them to spend tens of millions of dollars."

With early voting already underway in Ohio for nearly ten days and less than three weeks left before the election, it’s notable that Defend American Jobs wasn’t the sole crypto PAC increasing spending. The Digital Freedom Fund—a Super PAC established by Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss—reported approximately $3 million spent this week opposing Brown and supporting Husted, bringing their total media spending in Ohio to over $5.9 million.

Fairshake’s current spending dwarfs its 2024 efforts when it expended $41 million supporting Republican Bernie Moreno against Brown, who was then seeking Senate re-election. At that time, Brown chaired the Senate Banking Committee and was an outspoken critic of crypto-friendly legislation and policies during his congressional tenure.

Ohio isn’t the only focus for Fairshake as the midterms approach. Defend American Jobs also reported spending more than $6.7 million opposing independent candidate Dan Osborn in Nebraska’s Senate race. Osborn is competing against Republican Pete Ricketts, who supported the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act while in office.

Cointelegraph reached out to Fairshake and Jon Husted’s campaign for comment but had not received a response immediately after inquiry.

Fairshake has publicly declared its strategy to "support pro-crypto candidates" in 2026, aiming to shape the next Congress with lawmakers sympathetic to crypto-favorable policies. As of January, the PAC reported having $193 million in cash reserves heading into the elections.

In addition to PACs like Fairshake and Digital Freedom Fund, other crypto-interest groups have already started influencing 2026 voter sentiment. The Fellowship committee, financially backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, disclosed spending upwards of $11 million from August 2025 to August 2026, predominantly for media campaigns endorsing candidates for the House and Senate.

The increase in crypto PAC spending highlights the growing influence of the industry in shaping congressional races, signaling a potential shift in U.S. legislative priorities on digital assets and related policies for the upcoming congressional term.

As crypto-aligned PACs strategically channel millions into key races, their impact on legislation and regulatory frameworks concerning cryptocurrencies could be profound, potentially advancing industry-favorable laws and shaping the future regulatory landscape in the United States.

This surge in political expenditure by crypto PACs underscores the importance of the 2026 midterms in determining the direction of crypto regulation and industry support in Congress.