Crypto PAC to spend $30M opposing Sherrod Brown in Ohio, again

Fairshake, the political action committee (PAC) funded largely by cryptocurrency companies Coinbase and Ripple Labs, plans to spend $30 million opposing Democrat Sherrod Brown’s bid to return to the US Senate.

In a statement to Cointelegraph, Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter confirmed reporting by the New York Times that the PAC initially planned to spend $30 million opposing Brown’s 2026 election bid to represent Ohio in the Senate. Vetter said that the PAC expected to announce additional expenditures before the midterm elections on Nov. 3.

Fairshake spent about $41 million supporting Republican Bernie Moreno and opposing Brown in the Ohio lawmaker’s 2024 reelection bid. Brown, who had been the Senate Banking Committee chair when Democrats were in the majority, lost to Moreno by about four points in 2024 following more than $300 million in spending by Fairshake and other PACs.

The PAC is just one of many aligned with the cryptocurrency industry attempting to influence voters in key races for 2026, when control of the House of Representatives and Senate is up for grabs. As of Monday, many event contracts on prediction market platforms like Kalshi gave Democrats the odds on retaking a majority in the House and the Senate.

Cointelegraph reached out to Brown’s campaign but did not receive an immediate response. Vetter declined to comment on the PAC’s strategy going into the midterms, but said in August that it had a $122 million war chest ahead of the election.

Related: Coinbase-affiliated advocacy group endorses candidates for US midterms