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Stand With Crypto is going all in on the 2026 midterms. The advocacy group, launched by Coinbase in 2023, has thrown its weight behind a handful of Senate and House candidates it thinks can move the needle on crypto legislation.
Why It Matters
The backing of candidates by Stand With Crypto highlights the increasing political engagement of the cryptocurrency industry as it seeks to influence legislation that affects its future. With substantial financial resources being directed towards these races, the outcomes could significantly shape the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies, impacting market sentiment and investment strategies moving forward. This initiative underscores the importance of aligning political support with industry interests, particularly as the regulatory environment continues to evolve.
The Senate picks are pretty clear-cut. Republican Jon Husted in Ohio, Republican Ashley Hinson in Iowa, and Democrat Chris Pappas in New Hampshire all got the nod. Husted’s race is probably the most watched of the three — he’s up against Democrat Sherrod Brown in Ohio, a state that’s seen serious political spending lately. Brown sat on the Senate Banking Committee and built a reputation as one of crypto’s sharpest critics in Washington. He’s since softened his tone, made some positive noises about crypto’s economic impact, but Stand With Crypto didn’t buy it. Not enough, anyway.
Mason Lynaugh, the group’s Executive Director, was pretty direct about how endorsements work here. Financial backing matters, he said, but the real driver is a candidate’s track record on digital asset policy. Words aren’t enough. Votes are.
House Picks and the CLARITY Act Connection
Beyond the Senate, Stand With Crypto also endorsed Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa and Democrat Shomari Figures in Alabama on the House side. The group had already named 32 so-called “proven digital asset policy champions” back in August, and these endorsements slot into that broader push to put friendly faces in key congressional seats.
The policy prize everyone’s watching is the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — the CLARITY Act. It cleared the House in 2025 with bipartisan support, which was no small thing. But it stalled in the Republican-majority Senate and never made it to a vote. Husted’s backing of the CLARITY Act is a big part of why Stand With Crypto is putting its name behind him. The group has reportedly warned before that lawmakers who didn’t support the bill would face consequences come election time. That’s not subtle. That’s a very deliberate signal about where the group’s priorities sit.
The CLARITY Act matters because it would lay out a clearer regulatory framework for digital assets — something the industry has wanted for years. Murky rules, overlapping jurisdiction between the SEC and CFTC, enforcement-first approaches from regulators — all of it has frustrated crypto businesses trying to operate in the U.S. A bill like CLARITY, if it eventually passes, would basically rewrite the rulebook. So the stakes around who sits in the Senate next year are real.
Fairshake’s $82 Million and Where It’s Going
Money is moving fast. With the midterms roughly a month out, the Fairshake PAC — dominated by contributions from Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz — has committed $30 million specifically to back Husted in Ohio. Total Fairshake spending across the country hit $82 million by June. That’s a serious number, even by the standards of modern American campaign finance.
It’s worth being clear about what Fairshake is and isn’t. It’s not Stand With Crypto. But the overlap in goals and funding sources is obvious. Coinbase sits at the center of both. And the combined effect — endorsements from one side, hard cash from the other — gives pro-crypto candidates a real infrastructure advantage heading into competitive races.
The crypto industry has been building this kind of political muscle for a couple of cycles now. The 2024 races showed the sector could move money fast and target specific lawmakers. The 2026 cycle looks like a bigger, more coordinated version of that playbook.
Polls, for what they’re worth, suggest Democrats could make gains in Congress. Stand With Crypto’s decision to back candidates from both parties — Pappas in New Hampshire, Figures in Alabama — isn’t accidental. It’s a hedge. The group seems to want friends on both sides of the aisle, regardless of which party ends up holding the gavel.
Brown’s situation in Ohio is worth watching closely. He’s a well-known name, a former Senate Banking Committee chair, and he’s been trying to reposition himself on crypto ahead of this race. Stand With Crypto clearly didn’t find the repositioning convincing enough. His earlier record weighed too heavily against him.
Whether the endorsements actually move votes is a separate question. Advocacy group backing doesn’t always translate into electoral wins, and some of these races will come down to factors that have nothing to do with digital asset policy. Ohio, in particular, has its own political dynamics that go well beyond any single industry’s preferences.
But Stand With Crypto isn’t just trying to win individual races. The longer game is about shaping the composition of the next Congress and keeping the CLARITY Act — or something like it — alive. A Senate that killed the bill once could look very different after November. Or it might not. Unclear yet.
What’s not unclear is the money. Fairshake spent $82 million through June, with $30 million of that parked in Ohio alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Senate candidates did Stand With Crypto endorse for 2026?
Stand With Crypto endorsed Republican Jon Husted in Ohio, Republican Ashley Hinson in Iowa, and Democrat Chris Pappas in New Hampshire for the 2026 Senate races.
How much has the Fairshake PAC spent on the 2026 midterms?
Fairshake, backed by Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz, committed $30 million to support Jon Husted in Ohio and reached $82 million in total U.S. expenditure by June.
