Sherrod Brown beats the crypto money: Democrats flip Ohio's Senate seat after Fairshake and another crypto PAC spent about $63 million against him

The crypto industry's biggest bet of the midterms did not pay off. Sherrod Brown, the former Democratic senator, was projected on Tuesday night to defeat Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio, CBS News reported. Brown chaired the Senate Banking Committee before losing his seat in 2024, The Block notes. Husted was appointed last year to the seat JD Vance left to become vice president. CBS noted that no senator since 1988 had won a comeback bid after losing re-election.

Fairshake, the industry's main political action committee, and the Digital Freedom Fund spent a combined about $63 million against Brown over the past two months, according to CoinDesk's election live blog. Stand With Crypto rated Husted an A and Brown an F, and Husted voted for the Clarity Act market-structure bill, The Block reports. In 2024, Fairshake spent $12 million to back Bernie Moreno, who defeated Brown, The Block reports.

CoinDesk counted Brown's win as the seat that took Democrats to 49, with Polymarket and Kalshi bettors pricing a 98% chance of a Democratic Senate. If Democrats take control, Brown could chair the Senate Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over digital assets and prediction markets, The Block reports, though sources told the outlet he would be unlikely to introduce crypto legislation as chair.

The night brought mixed results for the industry elsewhere. Democrat James Talarico, who carries an A rating from Stand With Crypto per The Block, beat Ken Paxton for Texas's open Senate seat, CoinDesk reports, after a Cantor Fitzgerald-backed PAC had put $3.8 million behind Paxton in the primary. Republican Andy Barr, who often backs crypto issues, won Kentucky's open Senate seat, and Barry Moore's Alabama Senate win was another for Fairshake, CoinDesk reports.