Fairshake affiliates ramp up Ohio Senate spending in push to shape U.S. crypto policy

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Fairshake ramps up Ohio Senate crypto spending

Highlights

Fairshake affiliate Defend American Jobs increased Ohio Senate race ad spending to $46.6 million, over 50% higher than its initial $30 million plan.
The Digital Freedom Fund, led by Gemini co-founders, raised its Ohio media spend to over $5.9 million with $3 million in new ads opposing Sherrod Brown and supporting Jon Husted.
Fairshake and affiliates are expanding their 2026 midterm focus beyond Ohio, deploying over $6.7 million against Dan Osborn in Nebraska and holding $193 million cash ahead of the elections.

Ohio ad spending expands before voting

As reported by Cointelegraph, citing the Federal Election Commission filings released Thursday, Fairshake affiliate Defend American Jobs is spending $46.6 million on media opposing former lawmaker Sherrod Brown and supporting Republican incumbent Jon Husted in Ohio's Senate race for the 2026 midterms.

That total is more than 50% above the $30 million Fairshake said in September it initially planned to spend to oppose Brown's return to the Senate. With just under three weeks until the U.S. election, early voting has already been underway for 10 days in Ohio.

Brown says the ad campaign reflects his record of challenging powerful industries, including Wall Street, big pharma and big oil. In an interview aired Friday on Pod Save America, he says crypto industry donors see Husted as an ally and are spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat him.

The Digital Freedom Fund, a Super PAC created by Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, is also increasing its activity in the race. The group reports about $3 million in ad spending this week to oppose Brown and support Husted, bringing its total media purchases in Ohio to more than $5.9 million.

Crypto groups widen 2026 election effort

Fairshake's Ohio spending has already surpassed its 2024 effort, when the PAC spent $41 million backing Republican Bernie Moreno and opposing Brown during his reelection campaign. Brown previously chaired the Senate Banking Committee and remains one of the more outspoken critics of crypto-friendly laws and policies while serving in Congress.

Ohio is not the only target for the committee network. Defend American Jobs also reports spending more than $6.7 million to oppose independent candidate Dan Osborn in Nebraska's Senate race, where Osborn is running against Republican Pete Ricketts, who voted for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act while in office.

Fairshake has said it intends to back pro-crypto candidates in 2026 to help fill the next Congress with lawmakers supportive of industry priorities. The PAC reported in January that it held $193 million in cash on hand ahead of the elections, while other aligned groups, including the Fellowship committee backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, also report multimillion-dollar spending on House and Senate contests.

Our earlier article on the late-cycle surge in Republican campaign advertising explained how the GOP ramped up ad buys across Senate and House races as polling tightened, even in states once considered safe. We also noted that high fuel costs and broader affordability pressures were shaping voter sentiment and forcing campaigns to reallocate resources toward the most competitive contests.

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