Crypto PACs Escalate to $52.6M Against Sherrod Brown in Ohio Senate Race

Published October 17, 2026, 01:20 PKT. Based on Federal Election Commission filings dated October 15, 2026 (primary source, reported via Cointelegraph and crypto.news), secondary reporting by Cointelegraph and crypto.news on October 16, 2026, and CoinDesk background coverage from September 2026.

The crypto industry's biggest political spending machine just went much bigger in Ohio. Defend American Jobs, a Republican-aligned affiliate of the crypto super PAC Fairshake, reported cumulative spending of $46.7 million on media opposing former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and supporting Republican incumbent Jon Husted in Ohio's 2026 Senate race, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission dated October 15, 2026. That is more than 50 percent above the $30 million Fairshake said in September it initially planned to spend to block Brown's return to the Senate, a pledge PAC spokesman Geoff Vetter confirmed at the time.

The $30 million pledge becomes $46.7 million

The October 15 FEC filing lists cumulative Ohio expenditures of $46,672,296.18 by Defend American Jobs, crypto.news reported. The group's spending covers media buys and production for advertisements opposing Brown and supporting Husted, and it marks a sharp escalation of the industry's original commitment. Fairshake, backed largely by Coinbase, Ripple Labs and Andreessen Horowitz, has close to $100 million it can still deploy in the final weeks before the general elections, according to CoinDesk's earlier reporting. The same filing shows Defend American Jobs also reported $6.72 million opposing Nebraska Senate candidate Dan Osborn, crypto.news said.

The Winklevoss fund adds its own $5.9 million

Fairshake's affiliate was not the only crypto-aligned PAC ramping up. The Digital Freedom Fund, a super PAC created by Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, reported about $3 million in ad spending this week to oppose Brown and support Husted, bringing the group's total media purchases in the Ohio race to $5,940,397.25, according to its October 11 disclosure, crypto.news reported. The newly disclosed $2.97 million covered direct-mail printing and postage rather than broadcast ads. Combined, the two committees' reported expenditures in the Brown-Husted contest total $52,612,693.43, crypto.news said.

A repeat of the 2024 playbook

This is the second cycle running in which crypto money has targeted Brown specifically. Fairshake and its affiliates spent roughly $41 million in 2024 to help unseat the then-incumbent, who chaired the Senate Banking Committee and was one of crypto's most outspoken opponents in Congress, CoinDesk reported. Republican Bernie Moreno won that race 50.2 percent to 46.4 percent. Brown, who had for years blocked the industry's efforts to move market-structure legislation through the banking panel, is now trying to return to a seat currently held by Husted, who was appointed by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine after the seat was vacated when JD Vance was elected vice president in 2024.

Early voting is already underway in Ohio

The escalation lands with just under three weeks until the U.S. election and early voting already underway in Ohio for 10 days, Cointelegraph reported. Brown addressed the crypto-funded attack ads in an interview that aired Friday on Pod Save America, saying he has spent his career taking on Wall Street, big pharma and big oil, and that the industry is spending tens of millions because it sees Husted as its ally. Cointelegraph noted the Ohio race could matter for control of Congress in 2026, and that the same crypto PAC network has also spent on House races this cycle.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Federal Election Commission filings dated October 15, 2026, primary source for Defend American Jobs' cumulative Ohio spending of $46,672,296.18 opposing Sherrod Brown and supporting Jon Husted, the $6.72 million opposing Nebraska candidate Dan Osborn, and the Digital Freedom Fund's $5,940,397.25 cumulative Ohio spending (figures reported via Cointelegraph and crypto.news)
• Cointelegraph, October 16, 2026, secondary source for the $30 million initial pledge confirmed by Fairshake spokesman Geoff Vetter, the Digital Freedom Fund's $3 million weekly spending, the Pod Save America interview quotes from Brown, and early voting being underway in Ohio for 10 days with under three weeks until the election
• crypto.news, October 16, 2026, secondary source for the exact cumulative figures ($46,672,296.18, $5,940,397.25, combined $52,612,693.43), the direct-mail printing and postage breakdown of the Digital Freedom Fund's new $2.97 million, and the $6.72 million Dan Osborn opposition spending
• CoinDesk, September 2026, secondary background source for the 2024 spending of roughly $41 million against Brown, the Moreno 50.2% to 46.4% result, Brown's record as Senate Banking Committee chair, and Fairshake's remaining war chest of close to $100 million