Fairshake-Affiliated PAC Spends Over $52 Million in Ohio Senate Race Against Sherrod Brown

According to filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on October 15, Defend American Jobs, an affiliated organization of the political action committee Fairshake, primarily funded by Coinbase and Ripple Labs, has spent $46.6 million in the Ohio Senate race on media advertising to oppose former Senator Sherrod Brown's return to the Senate and support Republican incumbent Jon Husted. This expenditure represents an increase of more than 50% over Fairshake's initial $30 million plan announced in September. In an interview aired on Pod Save America on October 16, Brown responded that he has spent his entire career taking on Wall Street, big pharma, and big oil, succeeding in many cases, while Husted is a mouthpiece for these forces, which is why they have poured tens of millions of dollars into the race. In addition to Fairshake, the super PAC Digital Freedom Fund, established by Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, reported approximately $3 million in advertising spending this week opposing Brown and supporting Husted, bringing its total media purchases in the Ohio race to over $5.9 million. With less than three weeks until the U.S. election, early voting in Ohio has been underway for 10 days. Fairshake's current spending has already exceeded the $41 million it spent in 2024, when the PAC supported Republican Bernie Moreno and opposed Brown, who was seeking reelection. Brown, a former chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is one of the lawmakers in Congress who has publicly questioned laws and policies supported by the crypto industry. Defend American Jobs also reported spending over $6.7 million in the Nebraska Senate race against independent candidate Dan Osborn, whose opponent, Republican Pete Ricketts, voted in favor of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and stablecoin-related legislation. In January of this year, Fairshake stated it held $193 million in cash ahead of the election.