Crypto political group Fairshake is expanding its spending ahead of the November 3 United States midterm elections, backing 32 House incumbents from both parties after the industry’s main market structure bill stalled in the Senate.
The slate includes 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats, all of whom supported the CLARITY Act when it passed the House in 2025. Fairshake has disclosed at least $6 million for six of those lawmakers, with $1 million in spending allocated to each candidate. The group has not disclosed how much it plans to spend on the remaining 26 races.
The campaign push comes less than a month after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, leaving the crypto industry looking toward the next Congress for another attempt at comprehensive market structure legislation.
Fairshake Is Backing 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats
Fairshake’s October 5 announcement is deliberately bipartisan. The six candidates receiving $1 million each are evenly split between Republicans and Democrats:
| Candidate | Party | State | Fairshake Spending |
| Janelle Bynum | Democrat | Oregon | $1 million |
| Steven Horsford | Democrat | Nevada | $1 million |
| Derek Tran | Democrat | California | $1 million |
| French Hill | Republican | Arkansas | $1 million |
| Bryan Steil | Republican | Wisconsin | $1 million |
| Bill Huizenga | Republican | Michigan | $1 million |
Table 1. House Candidates Receiving $1 Million Each From Fairshake
Hill chairs the House Financial Services Committee, while Steil leads its Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee. Huizenga serves as vice chair of the full committee.
Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter described the group as issue-focused rather than aligned with one political party, saying it backs candidates from both parties who support crypto-related innovation.
All 32 Candidates Supported the CLARITY Act
The common factor across the entire House slate is support for the CLARITY Act.
The House passed the market structure legislation in July 2025. Every Republican supported by Fairshake voted for the bill, while the Democrats receiving backing were among the 78 members of their caucus who voted in favor.
The legislation was intended to establish a federal framework for digital asset markets and clarify regulatory responsibilities.
However, it stalled in the Senate for more than a year before failing to advance in September 2026. Negotiations broke down over several issues, including ethics provisions governing public officials’ crypto interests.
That setback has made the November elections more important for the industry because a new Congress may need to revisit market structure legislation in 2027.
For more background, see our earlier coverage of why the CLARITY Act Senate deal collapsed.
Fairshake Is Also Supporting Senior House Leaders
The remaining 26 candidates include several lawmakers with influential committee or leadership positions.
Among the Republicans are the following:
- House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota
- House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan
- Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith of Missouri
- Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania
- Ben Cline of Virginia
- Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin
- Mike Haridopolos of Florida
- Frank Lucas of Oklahoma
- August Pfluger of Texas
Democrats receiving support include:
- Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California
- House Budget Committee ranking member Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania
- Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey
- Lucy McBath of Georgia
- Sarah McBride of Delaware
- Jimmy Panetta of California
- Hillary Scholten of Michigan
- Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia
Fairshake has not disclosed individual spending amounts for these candidates.
The mix suggests the group is not focusing only on competitive seats but also supporting lawmakers who could hold influential positions over financial services, taxation and digital asset legislation in the next Congress.
Fairshake Had More Than $100 Million Available Entering September
Federal Election Commission filings showed Fairshake itself had approximately $108 million in cash on hand at the end of August.
The broader Fairshake network and affiliated political groups reported roughly $120 million available, according to reporting on the October announcement.
Fairshake and its affiliates had already spent heavily during primaries and special elections earlier in the cycle. The network reported spending approximately:
- $40 million supporting 29 Democrats
- $31 million supporting 28 Republicans
Fairshake says candidates it supported have won 53 of 57 races in which the organization participated during the current cycle.
Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz Are Major Backers
Fairshake receives significant financial support from major crypto companies and investors. Its largest donors include people or entities associated with:
- Coinbase
- Ripple
- Andreessen Horowitz
The group’s objective has been to increase the number of lawmakers supportive of clearer US digital asset rules.
Its current House spending reflects that strategy by rewarding incumbents who voted for the industry’s main market structure legislation, regardless of party affiliation.
However, political spending by industry-backed groups has also attracted criticism from lawmakers and opponents concerned about the influence of corporate money on digital asset policy.
Ohio Senate Race Remains Fairshake’s Biggest General Election Target
The House push is substantial, but Fairshake’s largest announced general-election investment remains the Ohio Senate race.
In September, the group said it planned to spend nearly $30 million opposing Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown, who is running against Republican Sen. Jon Husted.
Brown previously chaired the Senate Banking Committee and has taken a more skeptical approach toward parts of the crypto industry.
He also faced heavy crypto-industry spending during his 2024 Senate campaign, when Republican Bernie Moreno defeated him.
Fairshake’s latest House strategy differs from its Ohio campaign because the 32-seat slate includes candidates from both parties.
Whether the group adds further Senate or House spending before November remains unclear. Fairshake has not disclosed its complete general-election budget.
Fairshake’s Strategy Is Already Creating Political Tension
Not everyone who supports crypto legislation agrees with Fairshake’s approach.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat who has supported digital asset legislation and benefited from crypto-industry spending in 2024, criticized the decision to target Brown.
Gallego noted that future market structure legislation will still likely require bipartisan Senate support, including the 60 votes normally needed to overcome a filibuster and advance major legislation, creating a strategic tension for the industry.
Fairshake is trying to elect more lawmakers who support crypto policy, but aggressive spending against individual senators could make the bipartisan negotiations needed to pass legislation more difficult.
The House slate appears designed partly to offset that concern by demonstrating support for lawmakers from both parties.
The Next Congress Could Decide the Future of Crypto Market Structure
The November election will determine who controls the House and Senate when the new Congress begins in January 2027.
If the current CLARITY Act does not advance before the present Congress ends, lawmakers may need to restart or substantially revise the market structure effort next year.
The House Financial Services and Agriculture committees have been central to crypto legislation, while the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees play similar roles on the other side of Congress.
Fairshake’s support for lawmakers occupying or potentially occupying influential committee positions therefore extends beyond their individual races.
It could affect who is involved when crypto market structure legislation returns.
What Comes Next
Fairshake has disclosed at least $6 million for six House candidates, but the full amount it plans to spend across all 32 races remains unknown.
The group also has substantial cash available for additional spending before the November 3 election, while its separate campaign against Sherrod Brown remains its largest announced general-election effort.
After the election, attention will shift to whether the next Congress can rebuild the bipartisan support needed for another crypto market structure bill.
What this means for you: Fairshake’s latest spending shows that the crypto industry’s political strategy now extends well beyond supporting one party. The group is backing lawmakers who supported the CLARITY Act on both sides of the aisle, aiming to enter 2027 with a larger bloc of House members willing to pursue federal crypto legislation.
