French Hill race too close to call as House flip reshapes crypto legislation

Hill race too close as House changes hands

Rep. French Hill's reelection race in Arkansas was too close to call on Wednesday afternoon. He was neck and neck with Democratic candidate Chris Jones, with Hill holding a slim lead at publication time, according to the Associated Press.

The result matters for crypto policy. Democrats are set to take control of the House, which will change who leads key committees that oversee crypto and prediction markets.

Main developments

• About 99% of votes had been reported in Hill's race, according to the Associated Press.
• Hill has led the House Financial Services Committee for the past two years.
• Other crypto-friendly lawmakers won reelection, while Rep. Bill Huizenga lost his seat.
• Democrats are expected to set the agenda for key committees after the House flip.

Hill held a slim lead with 99% of votes reported

According to the Associated Press, Hill and Jones were neck and neck on Tuesday night into Wednesday, with 99% of votes already reported. Hill held a slim lead at publication time.

Hill led the House Financial Services Committee for the past two years. During that time, members passed the first federal framework for stablecoins, which are digital tokens designed to keep a stable value, often tied to the U.S. dollar. They also passed a sweeping crypto bill. That bill stalled in the Senate in September.

Crypto political action committee Fairshake and other PACs spent $1 million on Hill's campaign, according to reporting from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. A PAC is a group that raises and spends money for political campaigns.

Other results involving crypto-friendly lawmakers

Other crypto-friendly lawmakers secured reelection, including Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa.

Later on Wednesday, Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-MI, who is viewed favorably by the crypto industry, lost his seat to Democratic candidate Sean McCann, according to the Associated Press.

Candidate Shomari Figures beat Republican candidate Rhett Marques in Alabama. Figures was endorsed by crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto, given his vote on sweeping digital asset legislation called the Clarity Act.

Expected change in committee leadership

With the House flipping control, Democrats will set the agenda for key congressional committees that have jurisdiction over crypto and prediction markets. Top Democrat Maxine Waters will likely take back her spot as House Financial Services Committee chair, leaving Hill out of that top spot but likely to be the top Republican on the committee.

Waters is still expected to take the chair role again, but she has been challenged by Democratic Reps. Sean Casten and Bill Foster. Some Democrats have signaled they want “generational change,” given that Waters is 88 years old and Casten is 54, according to reporting from Politico last month.

On crypto, Waters worked on the stablecoin framework called the GENIUS Act and has shown an openness to writing rules for the industry. She has also criticized the industry following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, which was a platform for trading crypto, and later President Donald Trump's crypto interests and how they can influence regulation.

What is still unclear

The outcome of Hill's race was not confirmed in the report. It also remains unclear who will ultimately lead the House Financial Services Committee, as Waters is expected to return but faces challenges from Casten and Foster.

Source for this report

• The Block