Crypto Lobby Shifts Focus to November After Primary Wins

Fairshake and its affiliates, Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs, are funded by major crypto companies including Coinbase and Ripple Labs. The network is seeking to build a bipartisan bloc in Congress that favors clearer rules for digital assets. Its spending matters because the next Congress will shape the fate and implementation of market-structure legislation, including the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act, which would clarify federal oversight of crypto markets.

After Protect Progress spent about $1 million backing incumbent Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar in Michigan, Thanedar lost the Aug. 4 primary. Fairshake and its allied groups have now shifted to congressional contests in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming, committing more than $1.5 million to advertising ahead of all three states’ Aug. 18 primaries. The buys largely support bipartisan House and Senate candidates who previously voted for the CLARITY Act, underscoring the industry’s effort to reward lawmakers aligned with its regulatory agenda.

Fairshake has emerged as the cryptocurrency industry’s leading election vehicle, using support from Coinbase, Ripple Labs and Andreessen Horowitz to back congressional candidates from both parties who favor digital-asset legislation. The super political action committee said in January 2026 that it controlled a $193 million war chest, underscoring the sector’s push to shape lawmakers and secure clearer US rules for crypto markets, stablecoins and blockchain businesses.

Republican Bill Huizenga and Democrats Suzan DelBene, Kim Schrier and Marilyn Strickland advanced in Michigan and Washington primaries held on Aug. 4. The results extended Fairshake’s record of helping crypto-friendly incumbents and candidates, although its network suffered a notable setback in Michigan’s 13th District: Donavan McKinney defeated Shri Thanedar despite Fairshake affiliate Protect Progress spending more than $986,000 on advertisements supporting Thanedar and opposing McKinney.

Fairshake is a super political action committee backed by crypto companies including Coinbase and Ripple. Its affiliate Protect Progress focuses on Democratic races, while Defend American Jobs supports Republican candidates. The network spent more than $130 million in 2024 and is now intervening in the 2026 midterm elections to expand the pro-crypto bloc in Congress, with implications for regulatory legislation including the CLARITY Act.

Federal Election Commission filings showed that Fairshake-affiliated PACs had spent $7.2 million in Georgia, Texas, Nebraska, Alabama and Kentucky as of May 7, 2026. Protect Progress accounted for about $1.6 million and Defend American Jobs about $5.6 million. On May 26, Christian Menefee, who received $5 million in campaign support, defeated Al Green in Texas. The groups disclosed more than $3.1 million in additional advertising spending in Maryland on June 2.

The crypto industry has expanded its election campaign through super political action committees such as Fairshake since 2024, spending more than $133 million that year and backing 53 incumbent members of Congress. Its goal is to consolidate bipartisan support and advance market-structure legislation, including the CLARITY Act, a successor to FIT21, helping shape the direction of digital-asset regulation.

Primaries began in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas on March 3, 2026, with the Fairshake network holding $193 million at the start of the quarter. By the Texas runoffs on May 26, crypto PACs had spent more than $9 million in the state during the current election cycle, helping Christian Menefee defeat Al Green and Ken Paxton defeat John Cornyn. Their bipartisan bets paid off in both races.