Fairshake PACs Report $2.7M in Ad Spending for Pro-Crypto House Candidates

Millions in ads for pro-crypto House candidates

With 22 days remaining until the 2026 US midterm elections, two political action committee (PAC) affiliates of Fairshake reported $2.7 million in combined media spending to support candidates they consider favorable to digital asset policy. The Defend American Jobs PAC and the Protect Progress PAC filed the spending details with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Saturday.

The spending covered both Democratic and Republican candidates running for US House of Representatives seats. Fairshake itself is funded largely by contributions from investment banking firm Cantor Fitzgerald, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and Ripple Labs.

Key numbers from the FEC filings

• Combined $2.7 million in media spending by the two Fairshake affiliates, with additional direct mail expenditures not separately quantified.
• $512,000 directed to California Representative Pete Aguilar.
• $500,000 directed to New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer.
• More than $76,000 for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer.
• $73,000 for House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson.

What Fairshake's broader strategy looks like

Days before the FEC filings, Fairshake announced it planned to endorse an additional 32 House candidates, including six that would each receive $1 million in supportive media. None of those six endorsed candidates appear in the Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress spending, though some incumbents on the endorsement list — Emmer, Aguilar, Gottheimer, and Thompson — did receive affiliate PAC funds.

As of August, a Fairshake spokesperson said the PAC had $122 million in cash on hand. Part of that budget includes at least $30 million allocated for media buys opposing the election of former banking committee chair Sherrod Brown in Ohio's Senate race. While in office, Brown was among the leading Democrats voting against bills considered favorable to the crypto industry.

The CLARITY Act and midterm stakes

All recipients of the Fairshake-affiliate spending voted for the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act in 2025. The bill was intended to set market structure rules for the crypto industry, including giving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more authority to oversee and enforce regulations. It passed the House with bipartisan support but failed to advance in the Senate in September.

Stand With Crypto, an initiative launched by Coinbase that ranks lawmakers based on their public statements and voting records related to the industry, warned after the CLARITY vote that candidates who failed to advance the legislation could face "consequences" in the midterms. The group is attempting to mobilize crypto-minded US voters in the upcoming election, as it did in 2024 races.

Sources

• Cointelegraph