Fairshake backs 32 House candidates as crypto bill stalls

Fairshake, a major crypto industry political group, says it will support 32 House candidates in the November midterms, seeking to keep lawmakers who backed the industry’s market-structure bill in office as the legislation stalls in the Senate. The slate includes 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats, according to the Associated Press report on Fairshake’s announcement.

How much will Fairshake spend on the House slate?

Fairshake has named six candidates for $1 million in spending each: Democrats Janelle Bynum of Oregon, Steven Horsford of Nevada and Derek Tran of California, and Republicans French Hill of Arkansas, Bryan Steil of Wisconsin and Bill Huizenga of Michigan. The group has not disclosed how much it plans to spend on the other 26 candidates, Roll Call reported.

The slate works like a roster for distributing election support: Fairshake identifies the candidates it intends to back, then spends money to support them. The announcement does not give a full spending schedule, so the six disclosed amounts do not show the total planned for all 32 races. AP reported that Fairshake and affiliated PACs had about $120 million in cash at the end of August; Roll Call cited a Federal Election Commission filing showing $108 million for Fairshake PAC alone.

Why are these candidates on the list?

All 32 supported the CLARITY Act, which would set federal rules for digital asset markets and divide oversight among regulators. The House passed the bill in July 2025. It then remained in the Senate for more than a year, where lawmakers did not resolve disagreements over ethics rules, among other issues. In September, the Senate blocked it on a procedural vote.

Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter described the group as focused on crypto policy and said it backs candidates in both parties. The six candidates receiving the largest disclosed amounts include members of the House Financial Services Committee: Hill chairs the full committee, Steil leads its digital assets subcommittee, and Huizenga is vice chair, according to Roll Call.

What changes after the Senate vote?

The stalled bill leaves its supporters looking to the next Congress to revive market-structure legislation. Fairshake’s new slate directs support toward House members who voted for the measure, while the group has not said whether it will spend more in House or Senate races before November.

Fairshake also plans nearly $30 million in spending against Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown in Ohio, AP reported. That separate effort shows the group’s election activity extends beyond the House slate, but the announced House amounts remain limited to six candidates. The next concrete markers are how much Fairshake ultimately spends across the 32 races and whether the next Congress takes up the bill again.

References

• Associated Press report on Fairshake’s announcement — apnews.com
• Roll Call reported — rollcall.com