Digital Freedom Fund, the super political action committee (PAC) launched in 2025 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, co-founders of the New York-based cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, has disclosed additional expenditures targeting US Senate races in the 2026 midterm elections, aiming to reach voters in Texas, Iowa and Ohio. Super PACs may raise unlimited sums from individuals and corporations to support or oppose candidates, as long as they operate independently of the campaigns they back.

In a Tuesday filing with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC), the PAC reported its first spending on ads supporting Republican candidate Ken Paxton, the state's attorney general, in his bid for one of Texas' Senate seats. According to the PAC, more than $81,000 went toward direct mail media supporting Paxton and opposing Democratic candidate James Talarico, a state representative, with early voting already underway in the state.

The Winklevoss-backed super PAC, which reported raising about $34 million as of Sept. 30, has not confined its activity to Texas, disclosing involvement in other key midterm races through advertising. It reported additional expenditures in Ohio's Senate race between Republican Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown, bringing its total support for Husted to roughly $7 million. Husted, the incumbent, was appointed to the seat in early 2025; Brown had held it for 18 years before losing his 2024 reelection bid.

The outlays on candidates positioned to support crypto policies and laws come as event contracts on prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket heavily favored Democrats retaking majority control of the House of Representatives and Senate in 2027. Whichever party holds the majority in each chamber would have a significant bearing on legislation such as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a market structure bill that passed the House in July but failed to clear a procedural vote in the Senate last month.

Related: PACs laud Texas primary wins, look to back more pro-crypto candidates

Paxton had already benefited from $500,000 in supportive ads ahead of the May Republican primary, in which he defeated incumbent Senator John Cornyn, who was first elected in 2002. Those ads, funded by the Anchorage Digital- and Cantor Fitzgerald-backed Fellowship PAC, were placed through the Nxum Group, a marketing company co-founded by Bo Hines, a former crypto adviser to US President Donald Trump who became CEO of Tether US after leaving the White House.

According to an October Wall Street Journal report, Nxum profited from Hines' role in government, as he helped push stablecoin legislation — the GENIUS Act signed into law in July — while retaining a stake in the company. Nxum reportedly received $6.3 million under a deal with stablecoin issuer Tether, with the first payment processed while Hines was still at the White House.

Early voting in Texas began on Oct. 19, with Election Day set for Nov. 3. Cointelegraph reached out to the Talarico and Paxton campaign teams for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Fairshake escalates spending in Ohio Senate race

Fairshake, a separate PAC aligned with the interests of the crypto industry and largely funded by Ripple Labs, Coinbase and Andreessen Horowitz, reported more than $13 million in combined spending this week on a direct mail campaign backing candidates it considers "pro-crypto." Fairshake and its affiliated committees spent more than $200 million on federal races during the 2024 election cycle. The PAC's latest FEC filing showed more than $4 million to oppose independent candidate Dan Osborn in Nebraska's Senate race and an additional $9 million to support Husted over Brown.

The battle for Ohio's Senate seat between Brown and Husted has drawn heavy PAC spending — Fairshake had invested about $56 million as of Wednesday, while Digital Freedom Fund reported $7 million in total media purchases. Texas races have attracted interest from Republican donors looking to prevent the state from potentially losing Senate and gubernatorial to Democrats for the first time in more than 30 years.

FEC filings showed that Elon Musk, the world's richest person and founder of SpaceX, had poured more than $150 million into the Senate Leadership Fund. The PAC, which supports Republican Senate candidates, sent the same amount Musk donated to the Texas PAC that has backed Paxton through ads.