Fairshake enters US elections with $122M war chest

Fairshake has entered the final stage of the 2026 U.S. election cycle with $122 million available after supporting nearly 50 winning candidates during the primaries.

Summary

• Fairshake has backed nearly 50 candidates who secured party nominations in the 2026 primaries.
• The super PAC has reserved $122 million for spending before the Nov. 3 general election.
• Prediction markets give four Fairshake-backed Republican Senate candidates at least a 94% chance of winning.
• Fairshake's largest primary defeat came after it spent over $10 million against Juliana Stratton in Illinois.

Fairshake adds nearly 50 primary wins

According to reports on Wednesday, Fairshake supported nearly 50 successful primary candidates as the crypto industry-backed super PAC prepared to direct its remaining funds toward the November elections.

Among its latest wins, Democratic Representative Jake Auchincloss secured his party's nomination in Massachusetts after receiving support from Protect Progress, Fairshake's Democratic-focused affiliate. Protect Progress spent $189,527.60 on four mailers supporting the incumbent, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures cited in a recent crypto.news report on the Auchincloss primary win.

Although Auchincloss has voted for several pieces of crypto legislation, his record has not aligned with the industry on every issue. Stand With Crypto, the Coinbase-backed advocacy group, gives him a C grade, partly because he did not support the GENIUS Act stablecoin legislation last year.

His opponent, Jason Poulos, criticized the outside spending and alleged that some of the material used artificial intelligence. The FEC filing and materials released by Poulos did not show that Auchincloss or his campaign helped prepare the advertisements, while federal rules require super PAC expenditures to remain independent of the candidates they support.

Fairshake and its affiliates have also spent money defending seven members of Congress who have regularly supported digital asset legislation. At the same time, the network backed first-time candidates from both parties who could enter Congress next year.

In August, Fairshake affiliates added several Michigan and Washington victories after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars across the two states. Republican Representative Bill Huizenga received nearly $512,000 in support from Defend American Jobs, Fairshake's Republican-focused affiliate, while Protect Progress backed Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Kim Schrier and Marilyn Strickland.

Republican Senate candidates lead election odds

Fairshake's most notable results have come from Republican Senate primaries, where it helped Barry Moore in Alabama, Andy Barr in Kentucky, Kevin Hern in Oklahoma, and Harriet Hageman in Wyoming secure their party nominations.

Hageman is running for the seat held by retiring Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of Congress' most active supporters of cryptocurrency legislation. The Wyoming lawmaker has worked on digital asset tax, market structure, and Bitcoin-related proposals during her time in the Senate.

Prediction traders expect all four Fairshake-backed candidates to win in November. Polymarket contracts gave Moore a 99% probability of victory, Hern 97%, and Hageman 96% at the time of the report. A Kalshi market placed Barr's odds near 94%.

Prediction-market prices represent traders' expectations rather than guaranteed outcomes, and the figures can change as election conditions develop.

If elected, the four Republicans would arrive in the Senate while lawmakers are still working on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The proposed legislation would divide oversight of parts of the U.S. digital asset market between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Control of Congress will also determine which lawmakers lead the House Financial Services, House Agriculture, Senate Banking, and Senate Agriculture committees. Each panel has jurisdiction over parts of U.S. crypto policy, including securities rules, commodities regulation, stablecoins, and market structure.

Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter said the organization would continue its election activity after its primary results.

"With dozens of wins in House and Senate races across the country, and $122 million ready for the fall, we're not slowing down."

Most party nominees have already been selected, although primary contests remain in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Delaware and Louisiana. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3.

Illinois delivers Fairshake's largest defeat

Despite its victories elsewhere, Fairshake failed to stop Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton from winning the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate.

The super PAC spent more than $10 million trying to defeat Stratton, making the Illinois contest its largest unsuccessful expenditure of the current election cycle. Stratton defeated a field that included Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly in the race to succeed retiring Senator Dick Durbin.

Fairshake's advertisements did not prevent Stratton from securing the nomination, and prediction models cited by the report expect her to enter the Senate next year. Illinois has consistently elected Democrats in statewide federal races, giving the party's nominee an advantage over Republican nominee Don Tracy.

The result showed that high outside spending did not decide every primary. Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen previously calculated that crypto companies had contributed a record $189 million to the 2026 election cycle by the end of June, accounting for about 37% of corporate political contributions included in its analysis.

Public Citizen said Fairshake had spent more than $82 million during the cycle by that point. The organization's network entered 2026 with approximately $193 million in cash, though the current $122 million figure represents funds available for the final election phase.

Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz remain the main financial supporters of Fairshake and its affiliated committees. The network divides much of its political work between Protect Progress, which supports Democrats, and Defend American Jobs, which concentrates on Republicans.

Rival crypto PACs trail Fairshake's spending

Other digital asset-linked political groups have raised money during the election cycle but have not matched Fairshake's activity.

Fellowship PAC, backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, had previously indicated that it could spend $100 million. The committee received about $11 million, with most of the money coming from Cantor Fitzgerald.

The PAC supported a group made up mainly of Republicans and three Democrats, including Virginia Senator Mark Warner. Almost all its spending went to a political firm co-founded by Bo Hines, a former crypto adviser to President Donald Trump who later took charge of Tether's U.S. operation.

Fellowship's early connection to Tether created a campaign-finance issue because U.S. political committees cannot accept foreign funds. Rather than receiving money from the stablecoin issuer, the PAC obtained backing from Cantor Fitzgerald, the U.S. financial firm that manages part of Tether's reserves. It remains unclear whether Fellowship will spend again during the general election.

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have separately backed the Digital Freedom Fund through a $21 million contribution from Winklevoss Capital. Kraken parent Payward added another $1 million, but the committee had not started supporting individual candidates at the time of the report.