Crypto PAC Defend American Jobs Drops $11M Against Sherrod Brown in Ohio Senate Race

Defend American Jobs PAC, a political action committee affiliated with the Coinbase- and Ripple Labs-backed super PAC Fairshake, reported spending $11.4 million on media buys opposing Democrat Sherrod Brown and supporting Republican Jon Husted in Ohio's US Senate race, according to a Thursday filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The expenditure is part of Fairshake's initial $30 million pledge to block Brown, the former chair of the Senate Banking Committee and a prominent critic of pro-crypto legislation, from returning to the Senate.

The ad campaign mirrors the crypto industry's heavy investment in the 2024 Ohio Senate race, when Fairshake and its affiliates spent roughly $41 million to oppose Brown in his contest against Moreno. That cycle drew more than $300 million in total outside spending, and Moreno ultimately won with 50.2% of the vote compared to Brown's 46.4%. Brown, who lost his seat that year, launched a bid to return in August 2025 and told Cointelegraph he views cryptocurrency as 'a part of America's economy' while emphasizing consumer protection for Ohioans.

Husted was appointed to his Senate seat by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine after JD Vance vacated the position following his election as US vice president in 2024. On the gubernatorial side, Vivek Ramaswamy, co-founder of digital asset manager Strive and a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, won his party's nomination for governor of Ohio earlier this year. Cointelegraph reached out to both the Husted and Brown campaigns for comment but had not received a response at press time.