The crypto industry’s main political spending group has now disclosed about $46.66 million in spending this year against Democrat Sherrod Brown in Ohio’s US Senate race.
The figure comes from a Federal Election Commission filing signed on 15 October by Defend American Jobs, an affiliate of the Fairshake super PAC. It makes Ohio the industry’s most expensive target of the 2026 election cycle.
What the filing shows
The filing lists a $5.2 million media buy against Brown, followed days later by a further buy of about $1.95 million, plus media production costs.
The PAC had earlier signalled it would spend at least $30 million opposing him.
The same filing shows parallel spending in support of Republican Jon Husted, who was appointed to the seat last year.
Why Brown
Brown chaired the Senate Banking Committee and was a long-standing critic of the crypto industry. He lost his seat in 2024, in a race where Fairshake spent roughly $40 million against him.
He is now running again for Ohio’s other Senate seat, which Husted currently holds.
Who funds Fairshake
Fairshake is funded largely by Coinbase, Ripple and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz.
It entered September with about $120 million in cash and is expected to spend more than $100 million across House and Senate races this cycle.
Spending on both sides of the aisle
Fairshake’s spending is not limited to one party.
On 5 October, the group said it would back 32 House incumbents, 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats, with an initial $6 million committed to six of them. All 32 voted to advance the CLARITY Act when it passed the House in July 2025.
The PAC says its aim is to back “pro-crypto candidates who support American innovation in both parties.”
What happens next
The race will be decided at the November elections. The outcome will be watched as a test of the industry’s political reach, and it comes as the CLARITY Act market structure bill waits for further Senate action.
