Stand With Crypto has issued its first U.S. Senate endorsements after the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed to clear a Senate procedural vote on Sept. 15, turning lawmakers’ positions on federal crypto rules into an early test for the 2026 election cycle.
The Coinbase-backed advocacy organization said it will support Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio, Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa, and Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire. The selections arrived alongside new House endorsements and plans to expand advertising in six congressional races, indicating that the group intends to direct its political network toward candidates who supported the stalled market-structure bill.
Stand With Crypto Executive Director Mason Lynaugh said the organization has more than three million advocates and will focus on candidates who support “clear rules of the road” for digital assets.
Clarity act vote reshapes candidate ratings
The organization said it updated its candidate scorecard following the Sept. 15 Senate vote on the CLARITY Act. The bill would have created a federal framework governing parts of the digital asset market, including the division of oversight responsibilities between U.S. regulators.
The legislation did not advance after Senate Democrats withheld support. Democratic opponents argued that the bill did not sufficiently address concerns over President Donald Trump’s financial ties to several crypto ventures. They pointed to millions of dollars in reported income connected to digital asset initiatives associated with Trump and his family.
That dispute placed the market-structure debate inside a wider argument over political conflicts, corporate influence and financial regulation. The failed procedural vote also leaves crypto businesses operating without the comprehensive federal framework sought by many industry groups, even as individual agencies continue to oversee different parts of the market.
Stand With Crypto is using the vote as a clear line in its ratings system. The group said every newly endorsed House candidate supported the CLARITY Act when it passed the House last year. Its campaign message is likely to frame those votes as evidence that candidates favor a defined regulatory structure rather than case-by-case enforcement and regulatory uncertainty.
Ohio remains a major crypto campaign battleground
Ohio gives the strategy an immediate connection to the large-scale crypto political spending seen in 2024. Fairshake, the super PAC backed by major crypto companies and executives, spent $12 million supporting Republican Bernie Moreno in his successful Senate campaign against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, according to the information provided by Stand With Crypto.
The endorsement of Husted keeps Ohio near the center of the industry’s electoral map. The state already demonstrated that crypto-aligned political committees were prepared to spend heavily in a competitive Senate contest, particularly when candidates’ views on regulation became part of the campaign.
Fairshake’s 2024 spending was not limited to Republicans. The group also supported current Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan during the previous election cycle. Both senators later voted against advancing the CLARITY Act this month.
That record complicates attempts to characterize crypto political spending as exclusively partisan. The groups involved have backed candidates from both parties, but the Senate vote shows that their support may become increasingly tied to specific legislative outcomes. Candidates who received backing in one campaign may face pressure from the same network if they oppose bills viewed as central to the industry’s policy agenda.
House races face expanded advertising
Stand With Crypto also said it will increase advertising in six House contests, including races involving Democratic Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina and Republican Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin. The group did not provide spending figures for the advertisements in the supplied material.
The new activity follows more than 30 House endorsements announced last month. Among those candidates were Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures of Alabama and Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa.
House endorsements give the organization a larger field on which to press its case. While Senate votes receive national attention, the House remains essential to passing any future market-structure legislation. The chamber approved the CLARITY Act last year, creating a record that advocacy groups can use to distinguish between members who backed the bill and those who did not.
Advertising in district-level races could also bring crypto policy into campaigns where it may otherwise receive limited attention. Rather than focusing only on token prices or the industry’s commercial interests, the advocacy group is expected to emphasize the practical regulatory question: whether Congress should establish a single legislative framework for digital asset markets.
Fairshake enters midterms with major reserves
Federal Election Commission data cited in the supplied material shows Fairshake had reserved $193 million for the midterm elections. That amount nearly matches the $195.8 million the committee spent across the entire 2024 election cycle.
Affiliated groups, including Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, have also been used to place spending into individual races. Their structure allows crypto-aligned donors to support candidates through separate political committees while pursuing a shared interest in legislation governing digital asset markets.
The money does not guarantee legislative success. The CLARITY Act’s stalled Senate vote showed that a bill can face resistance even after winning House approval and building support among businesses that want clearer regulatory boundaries. Concerns involving presidential crypto activities, consumer protection and the proper role of federal regulators remain capable of splitting lawmakers who might otherwise agree on the need for legislation.
Stand With Crypto’s endorsements make that divide more electoral. By elevating candidates who supported the House bill and downgrading those who opposed the Senate measure, the group is seeking to ensure that the next congressional debate over crypto regulation begins with a larger bloc of lawmakers already committed to a market-structure framework.
For deeper context on U.S. crypto policy shifts, explore the possible future of crypto regulation in the US today.
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