Huizenga loses House seat despite $1 million from crypto PAC Fairshake

Huizenga loses in Michigan despite Fairshake backing

Rep. Bill Huizenga lost his reelection bid in Michigan's 4th Congressional District, the Associated Press called on Wednesday afternoon.

The Democrat, Sean McCann, won despite about $1 million in support for Huizenga from Fairshake. Fairshake is a super PAC, a group that can spend large amounts of money in elections.

Huizenga is an eight-term congressman. He is vice chair of the House Financial Services Committee and its No. 2 Republican.

The result by the numbers

• With more than 97% of votes counted, McCann led Huizenga 50.1% to 48.3%.
• The gap was about 7,000 votes out of nearly 300,000 cast.
• The race had been rated “lean Republican” before Tuesday.
• Fairshake reported spending $1,019,166 to support Huizenga in the general election, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
• Outside groups reported more than $25 million in spending in the district, according to FEC filings.

Other crypto allies on the committee also lost

Huizenga was not the only loss for Fairshake-backed members of the committee.

Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin lost to Democrat Mitchell Berman 52% to 48%. The AP called that race at 11:48 p.m. on Tuesday. Steil chairs the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence.

Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri lost to Democrat Fred Wellman. Rep. Zach Nunn of Iowa lost to state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott. Rep. Mike Lawler of New York conceded to Democrat Cait Conley before the AP called his race.

Fairshake's $1 million bets

Fairshake committed at least $1 million in October to each of six House incumbents. They included Huizenga, Steil and committee Chairman French Hill of Arkansas.

CNBC reported that all 32 House incumbents the Fairshake network backed this fall voted for the CLARITY Act when it passed the House 294-134 in July 2025. The network entered September with about $120.4 million in cash, the source said.

House Majority PAC put about $6 million against Huizenga, according to the source. Two of Fairshake's three Republican $1 million picks on the committee have now lost.

Hill's race had not been called by the AP as of Wednesday afternoon. He led Democrat Chris Jones by about 4,400 votes, or 50.9% to 49.1%, with 99% of the expected vote counted.

Democrats take control of the House

Democrats won control of the House on Tuesday. That gives their side control of the Financial Services Committee regardless of Hill's result.

Rep. Maxine Waters of California, the panel's top Democrat, is in line to return as chair. She chaired the committee from 2019 to 2023. Politico reported that 19 Financial Services Democrats backed her in October against a possible challenge from Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois.

Steil's loss also leaves the digital assets subcommittee without its chair. Huizenga sat on that panel too. Journalist Eleanor Terrett noted that the subcommittee's name, scope and membership are set each Congress, so Democrats could rename it, change its scope or eliminate it.

What this means for crypto legislation

Huizenga played a role in moving the stablecoin bill, which is a type of crypto token meant to keep a steady price, that President Donald Trump signed in 2025. He also led the committee's investigations into former SEC Chair Gary Gensler during the Biden administration.

The industry's main legislative goal is still the CLARITY Act. The source said it failed a Senate cloture vote, a procedural vote needed to move forward, 49-50 on Sept. 15. House Democrats are weighing their own market structure bill with a bigger role for the SEC.

Crypto groups spent about $176 million committed to more than 100 races this cycle, the source said. Losing Huizenga and Steil removes two Republicans who shaped crypto legislation on the committee, and both seats flip to Democrats.

Bitcoin rallied after the Democratic sweep, even as the industry's allies in Congress lost ground, the source said.

Sources

• Bitcoin Magazine

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