Crypto-aligned political action committees played a pivotal role in several Texas primary runoff victories, underscoring the digital asset industry’s expanding influence in U.S. elections as Congress works on new regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies. Attorney General Ken Paxton won the Republican U.S. Senate runoff decisively and will face Democrat James Talarico in the general election, while Democratic incumbent Christian Menefee ousted Al Green in Houston’s 18th Congressional District following aggressive crypto PAC spending.
These races attracted significant funding from organizations linked to the crypto sector. Protect Progress, an affiliate of the Fairshake super PAC—which counts Ripple and Coinbase among its supporters—spent millions backing Menefee and opposing Green, who had received a failing rating from the crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto. In the Senate contest, Fellowship PAC, supported by firms such as Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, directed substantial funds to promote Paxton over Cornyn. Meanwhile, Fairshake’s Republican arm, Defend American Jobs, supported four other winning GOP candidates in Houston-area races.
The success of crypto-backed candidates in Texas, a politically important state, could provide the industry with stronger allies as Congress considers legislation aimed at defining crypto market structures and regulating dollar-pegged stablecoins. The investment in these races demonstrates how crypto PACs strategically target high-stakes contests to advance their policy goals.