One of crypto's most expensive election bets is playing out in Ohio, where winning could leave the industry's biggest problem in Washington untouched.

Defend American Jobs, a crypto-backed political group, spent more than $55 million supporting Republican Jon Husted and opposing Sherrod Brown in Ohio between Sept. 21 and Oct. 26, according to Americans for Financial Reform. Husted had already voted to advance the CLARITY Act.

Americans vote today, Nov. 3, in midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the next two years. Republicans currently control both chambers.

Congress has to agree on crypto legislation, which means winning over enough lawmakers in both parties to get it passed.

The midterms will shape committee leadership, hearings and the path to a vote. Presidents appoint regulators and set enforcement priorities, but a later administration can change those policies.

Crypto-backed groups have poured money into congressional races, often backing candidates based on their crypto positions rather than their party.

Fairshake and its affiliated groups have become some of the biggest spenders in American politics, with a Reuters analysis estimating that crypto groups had spent roughly $176 million across more than 100 races by late October.

Husted already voted in September to advance the CLARITY Act, a major proposal intended to establish clearer federal rules for crypto. The bill failed to clear a 60-vote Senate hurdle , leaving its supporters short of the backing needed to move forward. Brown, meanwhile, wasn't even in the Senate when that happened, having lost his previous seat in 2024 before launching a comeback campaign against Husted for Ohio's other Senate seat.

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