The 2026 U.S. congressional election cycle has barely begun, and the crypto industry's biggest political group, a super PAC called Fairshake, is already celebrating its first victories.
The crypto industry is pouring serious money into elections to help shape how Washington regulates digital assets.
And in the early primaries, that strategy is already showing results.
Related: How Crypto Super PACs are Turbocharging the U.S. Midterms
What exactly is a super PAC?
A super PAC, short for "super political action committee," is a type of political group in the United States that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose political candidates.
Unlike traditional campaign committees, super PACs cannot donate directly to candidates or coordinate strategy with them, but they can spend heavily on advertising, media campaigns, and voter outreach.
In practice, that means wealthy donors, companies, or entire industries can pool money to influence elections, often through massive ad campaigns.
Crypto-backed candidates start winning
One of the clearest wins came in Texas.
Jessica Steinmann, a former Department of Justice lawyer backed by President Donald Trump, won the Republican primary for Texas's 8th District with nearly 70% of the vote.
Fairshake supported her campaign heavily, spending more than $750,000, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings.
Steinmann has openly positioned herself as supportive of the industry.
Because the district leans Republican, Steinmann now has a strong chance of winning the seat in the general election later this year.
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A major target
Fairshake isn't just backing crypto-friendly candidates. It's also trying to remove lawmakers who oppose crypto.
One of its biggest targets this week was Texas Democrat Rep. Al Green, who has been one of the industry's most vocal critics in Congress.
Fairshake spent roughly $1.5 million on ads opposing Green.
Early results suggest the race isn't settled yet. Green trailed pro-crypto challenger Christian Menefee, but because neither candidate secured more than 50% of the vote, the race is headed to a runoff.
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More crypto-backed wins
Texas wasn't the only state where crypto-backed candidates performed well.
Fairshake also supported Republican Chris Gober, who won his primary in Texas' 10th District with more than 50% of the vote.
Another candidate, Trever Nehls, secured 76% of the vote in Texas' 22nd District.
In Arkansas , Fairshake backed Rep. French Hill, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and one of the key lawmakers working on crypto legislation. Hill easily won his primary with 77% of the vote.
And in North Carolina , the PAC supported freshman Republican Tim Moore, who won 83% of the vote and holds an "A" rating from the crypto advocacy group "Stand With Crypto."
Crypto industry's biggest political war chest
Fairshake is now one of the most powerful political spending groups in the country.
At the start of the election cycle, the crypto super PAC and its affiliates had $193 million on hand, an enormous amount for a sector that only recently began organizing politically.
That war chest makes Fairshake one of the largest PACs in the U.S., rivaling even some party-aligned campaign organizations.
Interestingly, the ads it runs rarely mention crypto directly .
Because super PACs can't coordinate messaging with candidates, Fairshake's ads typically focus on broader political themes such as supporting or attacking candidates without explicitly discussing digital assets.
Related: JPMorgan, crypto firms pour millions into pro-Trump PAC
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Mar 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Policy section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
