Giant checkbook, meager result. You read yesterday the three consequences of the Democratic wave for crypto. Here is your bill. Fairshake and its two affiliated PACs have committed more than $170 million in these midterms according to Tech Influence Watch's count. Their number one target, Sherrod Brown, is returning to the Senate.
The network had gone through 2024 almost without a defeat. More than a third of its spending this time missed its target and the crypto lobby wakes up to an entirely Democratic Congress.
Fairshake burned 154 million on advertising for a mixed record
The war chest reached approximately $260 million. Fortune details the breakdown of the 170 million released by the Fairshake network. This includes Defend American Jobs on the Republican side and Protect Progress on the Democratic side. Nearly 75 million supported Republicans and 30 million supported Democrats. Finally, 36 million were used to fight others, including primaries.
There have been victories. Pete Ricketts keeps his Nebraska seat against independent Dan Osborn after $11 million to $13 million in advertising, depending on the count. Andy Barr becomes senator from Kentucky after a rainy primary of 7 to 8 million. In the House primaries, Alabama's Barry Moore (12 million), Maryland's Adrian Boafo (5.5 million) and Georgia's Jasmine Clark (4.2 million) all passed.
And then there's the rest. Bryan Steil chairs the House Digital Assets Subcommittee. He loses his Wisconsin seat despite 2 million support. Bill Huizenga also falls, two outgoing out of the 32 that the PAC deemed safe. Ken Paxton in Texas ($1.4 million) and Mike Rogers in Michigan ($810,000) were beaten. Same fate for Ashley Hinson in Iowa, supported to the tune of $700,000 by the Winklevoss brothers’ fund. In Illinois, the 10 million spent in March against Juliana Stratton was for nothing, she is a senator.
Ohio: $56 million against Sherrod Brown, and Brown wins by 5 points
Ohio sums it all up. According to CoinDesk, Fairshake invested $56 million to block the path of the former head of the Senate banking committee. An amount never seen before for a single race. Fortune counts differently: 40 million for Jon Husted and 24 million against his opponent. The Digital Chamber speaks of 63 million all PACs combined. Regardless of the method, Sherrod Brown wins by nearly 5 points in the November 3 special election.
The Digital Chamber, the historic lobby of the sector in Washington, sees this as “the most adverse unfavorable result” of the evening. Its influence, she writes, “could go beyond committee votes and weigh on the overall approach of the Democratic caucus.” Mark Hays of Americans for Financial Reform drives home the point in CoinDesk: “a resounding defeat of the crypto industry’s overall political strategy.”
Not everyone beats their guilt. Wintermute's Ron Hammond said Fairshake "had every reason to attack him." Brown had led the charge against the industry for four years as head of the banking commission. His 2024 defeat was partly financed by this same PAC.
Crypto in Congress in 2027, Warren and Waters in charge
The AP count relayed by The Block gives 54 Democratic senators against 44 Republicans, two seats remaining to be allocated. In the House, Democrats have 240 seats with 48 races still open. Elizabeth Warren is the favorite to chair the Senate Banking Committee. Maxine Waters is once again targeting the House Financial Services Committee, even if her place there is contested.
What remains of the Clarity Act, the market structure law blocked in the Senate in September? The Democrats who negotiated it called for more controls on illicit finance and more consumer protection. They also wanted safeguards for elected officials who do business in crypto, Donald Trump first and foremost. They now control both chambers. According to journalist Eleanor Terrett, House Democrats are already discussing a broader text for the next Congress, with an expanded role for the SEC. The commission presidents regain the power of assignment.
Fairshake is already aiming for 2028
Fairshake does not disarm. Its spokesperson Geoff Vetter promises to “start again in 2028”. The PAC has $56 million in cash for the next cycle. He summarizes his doctrine in four words: “2028 is a new card”. The Digital Chamber draws a less comfortable lesson. The industry, she wrote, “cannot continue the same legislative strategy that neglects working with moderate Democrats.”
