Industry-backed political action committees have committed more than $52 million to oppose former lawmaker Sherrod Brown in Ohio’s 2026 Senate race, directing their spending toward media supporting Republican incumbent Jon Husted. The campaign spending highlights the crypto sector’s effort to influence the makeup of the next US Congress and the lawmakers who will shape digital-asset policy.
According to Cointelegraph, filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission show that Defend American Jobs, an affiliate of the Fairshake political action committee, spent $46.6 million on advertising against Brown and in support of Husted. The amount is substantially higher than the $30 million Fairshake said in September it initially intended to spend against Brown.
Brown, a Democrat and former chair of the Senate Banking Committee, has been a prominent critic of policies and legislation favored by the cryptocurrency industry during his time in Congress. He is challenging Husted’s return to the Senate in a contest that may affect control of Congress after the 2026 midterm elections.
Spending expands as Ohio voting continues
The latest filings show that the increase in spending has not been limited to Fairshake’s network. The Digital Freedom Fund, a Super PAC established by Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, reported roughly $3 million in advertising expenditures during the week. That brought its total media purchases in Ohio’s Senate contest to more than $5.9 million.
The timing is significant for the campaign. Ohio’s early voting had been under way for 10 days, with fewer than three weeks remaining before the US election, according to the source material. The groups’ advertisements are intended to affect voters while ballots are already being cast.
Brown said in an interview broadcast Friday on “Pod Save America” that the crypto industry was spending tens of millions of dollars because it viewed Husted as its preferred candidate. He said his record of confronting Wall Street, pharmaceutical companies and the oil industry had made him a target, and argued that the industry expected him to hold it accountable.
Fairshake and Husted’s campaign did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s requests for comment.
Fairshake’s broader 2026 strategy
Fairshake’s spending in Ohio has already surpassed its activity in the 2024 election cycle. In that race, the PAC spent $41 million backing Republican Bernie Moreno and opposing Brown, who was then seeking reelection.
The organization has said its objective for 2026 is to support “pro-crypto candidates” and help elect members of Congress who favor policies sought by the digital-asset industry. Fairshake reported holding $193 million in cash in January, giving it substantial resources ahead of the midterm contests.
The Ohio campaign is not the group’s only intervention. Defend American Jobs also reported spending more than $6.7 million opposing independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn in Nebraska. Osborn is running against Republican Pete Ricketts, who voted for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act while serving in office.
Other crypto-aligned groups are also participating in the 2026 elections. The Fellowship committee, backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, reported more than $11 million in spending between August 2025 and August 2026, largely on media supporting candidates for the House and Senate.
Why the races matter for digital-asset policy
Political action committees are organizations that raise and spend money to influence elections. Super PACs can finance independent advertising supporting or opposing candidates, but they are not campaign committees themselves. Their activity allows industries and other backers to spend heavily on election messaging without making direct contributions to a candidate’s campaign, subject to election rules.
For the crypto industry, the elections offer an opportunity to influence future debates over market regulation, stablecoins and the responsibilities of federal financial regulators. The Senate Banking Committee, which Brown previously chaired, has been an important venue for discussions involving financial markets and digital assets.
The Ohio spending therefore represents more than a contest between two candidates: it is part of a wider effort by crypto-linked donors to support lawmakers they view as more sympathetic to the industry’s legislative priorities. The outcome will help determine which political voices participate in the next Congress, although the source material does not provide a forecast for the election.
Current market picture
Moneyiar market data at 21:38-21:39 on October 17, 2026, showed declines across three of the four listed assets. Ethena (ENA) was priced at $0.1862293776, down 6.1% over 24 hours and 16.02% over seven days. RedStone (RED) traded at $0.1375898986, down 5.92% over 24 hours and 8.74% over seven days.
Loaded Lions (LION) stood at $0.0012433227, down 0.7% in 24 hours and 9.91% over seven days. Ore (ORE) was priced at $109.0467226691, falling 3.26% over 24 hours but gaining 3.49% over the previous seven days.
