The crypto-focused super PAC Fairshake is targeting November’s midterm elections, backing 32 House incumbents roughly evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. It has singled out six candidates as its top targets, each receiving a million dollars.
A spokesman for the super PAC says about $1 million is being spent on six top recipients: three names from each party, plus three additional candidates, with each getting a million dollars. The candidates are generally considered safe bets to return to Congress.
The Top Recipients
Geoff Vetter, a spokesman for the super PAC, said Fairshake has always been and always will be an issue-focused organization. “We back pro-crypto candidates who support American innovation in both parties.”
Among Republicans, the leading recipients are French Hill, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and the person guiding crypto legislation through the House; Bill Huizenga, a senior committee member; and Bryan Steil, a member who directs the subcommittee on digital assets.
The three leading Democratic recipients of crypto donations all carry an “A” score for their positions on digital assets from Stand With Crypto. They are Steven Horsford of Nevada, Derek Tran of California, and Janelle Bynum, with the latter also among the group.
Oregon Democrat Janelle Bynum won her seat two years ago against Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who was backed by Fairshake during the previous election campaign. Chavez-DeRemer went on to serve as President Donald Trump’s Department of Labor, a post she held until earlier this year, when she resigned under multiple misconduct allegations.
Bynum’s Record
During her first term, Bynum voted for crypto bills, and she also showed up at the Digital Chamber’s DC Blockchain Summit earlier this year.
Many of the 32 candidates sit on the House Ways and Means Committee dealing with crypto tax issues, and many others sit on the key House Financial Services Committee. Agriculture, science, and judiciary panels are also represented among the candidates.
The group has so far backed 53 winners out of 57 primaries, according to Vetter, and is working toward “the largest pro-crypto caucus in American history.”. In many of those primaries, Fairshake favored a candidate from the party that’s likely to win the general election.
Brown’s Target
The PAC is not simply rewarding friends; it is also going after Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat who once led a crypto-resistant Senate Banking Committee. Fairshake has set aside some $30 million to defeat Brown, who is running again for the Senate.
Another $3 million has been added to a PAC founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, increasing their funding against Brown.
How the Spending Works
Fairshake’s spending has been devoted to independent buys of advertising, outside of campaigns’ involvement. The ads do not mention crypto as an issue, instead focusing on topics the PAC determines have the best chance of swaying voters.
The Legislative Picture
Last year, the Senate gave the GENIUS Act its backing, while the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed to pass last month. Every Democrat and some Republicans opposed the market clarity legislation.
The Pattern
Fairshake is putting its money behind incumbents who already back crypto, while also spending heavily to take down a senator who opposed it.
The approach consists of backing representatives who support crypto while going after a senator who opposed it.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs neither side’s candidate machine and is against treating these midterms as a horse race between two parties gathering power, judging instead each incumbent against its north star of individual freedom, small business, and avoiding concentrations of power. That is the standard here, and it applies equally to every candidate, whether they sit on the Banking Committee or chair the Financial Services Committee.
What stands out is the sheer scale of the anti-Brown operation: $30 million from Fairshake, plus $3 million from the Winklevoss PAC, directed at a single senator. That is a concentration of power aimed at removing a critic, and it sits alongside the PAC’s support for incumbents who are already safe bets to return to Congress.
The paper would rather see money directed at candidates who stand for individual freedom and small business, and who avoid concentrations of power. The PAC’s stated focus on American innovation is fine as far as it goes, but the targeting of Brown shows where the real interest lies: defeating a senator who once led a crypto-resistant Banking Committee.
Key Facts Box
- Top recipients: Six candidates, each getting a million dollars
- Total spent on top recipients: About $1 million
- Candidates supported: 32 House incumbents, roughly even split between Democrats and Republicans
- Brown target: $30 million from Fairshake, plus $3 million from Winklevoss PAC
- Stand With Crypto rating: “A” for Steven Horsford, Derek Tran, and Janelle Bynum
- Primary record: 53 winners out of 57 races in the primaries
Our View
A pro-crypto caucus is what Fairshake is putting together, and it is backing incumbents who are already safe bets to do it. That approach makes perfect sense.
The group’s willingness to target Brown, a senator running again for the Senate, is the more interesting angle. Spending $30 million to defeat a man who ran a crypto-resistant Banking Committee shows how the crypto industry sees the political landscape.
Source material: “Crypto's campaign arm, Fairshake, sets lists of U.S. House favorites it'll spend on,” CoinDesk.
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