Losing a race is unusual for the crypto industry’s political action committee, Fairshake, which posted a dominant record in the last two congressional elections. But the Illinois primary this week suffered its biggest setback on record, and will likely end with a new member of the Senate next year, someone the PAC spent more than $10 million trying to defeat.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won her Democratic primary, and her state’s Democratic lean means she will likely be the next senator after the November general election. One of Fairshake’s affiliates spent millions buying opposition ads in that race and supporting two of his opponents, accounting for more than 5 percent of the funds he had available this year to spend on congressional elections.
Not only did that money fail to achieve the result the group hoped for, but Stratton could eventually become a member of the 100-member Senate in which a single lawmaker can have very powerful influence, and she will be well aware of the industry’s efforts to oppose her. Cryptocurrency advocacy group Stand With Crypto, which evaluates politicians and political candidates, rated Stratton with an “F” on digital asset issues, even though she has no significant personal record on cryptocurrency policy outside of the industry-opposed state regulatory regime signed by her boss last year.
The industry had mixed results in Illinois, supporting three pro-crypto candidates who won their primaries and another who did not.
“Fairshake views this as a unique circumstance,” Fairshake spokesperson Geoff Vetter said in a statement. When opposing other candidates, the super PAC is not planning an “unlimited bank similar to the one Stratten brought in.” He also said Illinois voters favor “more pro-crypto members of Congress.”
Since the 2024 elections, Fairshake – primarily backed by Coinbase, a16z and Ripple – has targeted several Senate elections in which it has spent more than $10 million trying to influence the outcome. In his biggest spending last cycle, he spent a whopping $40 million to oppose former Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat who, as former chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, stood in the way of crypto legislation. (Brown is attempting to return this year, although Fairshake has not yet announced his plan to challenge Sen. Jon Husted.)
Shawn Ford, who won Illinois’ 7th District congressional primary to potentially join the House of Representatives next year, was another of Fairshake’s targets in a race in which the PAC spent nearly $2.5 million. He accused the PAC of making misleading and defamatory accusations in its ads. Although he may represent a future political opponent for the area, Fairshake celebrated the victories of Donna Miller, Melissa Bean and incumbent Rep. Nikki Budzinski in other House races in the state.
Vetter said of Fairshake’s defeats in Illinois: “While they won’t win every race, they will win the vast majority, and even if they lose, opposing innovation will be a costly proposition.”
In 2024, Fairshake and its affiliates supported 53 candidates who ended up in Congress, losing in just five races, even though many of the favored candidates were clearly in the lead. The super PAC has been widely seen as establishing an industry model for a campaign finance strategy in which more than $100 million spent on congressional elections (often primaries in districts in which one party has a dominant position) can influence the outcomes of dozens of seats. Fairshake deliberately did not design its political ads to reference its own primary goal of favoring crypto, but instead created ads based on the greater political vulnerability it saw in its opponents or the positives it noted in its allies.
Fairshake has been very public about the $193 million war chest he began the election season with. Funds are not just an electoral tool. Lobbyists and crypto insiders acknowledged that this also serves as a warning to sitting lawmakers evaluating crypto legislation currently under consideration in Congress. Members know that their decisions on crypto bills could bring millions of dollars in support or opposition to their campaigns, often far exceeding the amount of money congressional campaigns can raise from direct donors.
“If you support pro-crypto policies, we will show up big,” Vetter said. “If you stand up to crypto and American innovation, we will stand tall. This message is now clear at both the state and federal level.”
Some candidates that Fairshake had opposed in the past continued to support crypto initiatives, but Stratton criticized the “MAGA-backed crypto bros” who opposed her. Her crypto intentions in the Senate, if she succeeds, remain to be seen.
Read more: Crypto PAC Fairshake Campaign Marks First Wins in 2026 US Congressional Primary
