Crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto rolls out its first round of Senate endorsements after failed Clarity vote

Weeks after broad cryptocurrency legislation, known as the Clarity Act, stalled in a Senate procedural vote, crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto rolled out its first round of Senate endorsements.

On Wednesday, the Coinbase-backed group said it would endorse Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio, who is running against crypto-skeptical and former Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown, as well as candidates Ashley Hinson in Iowa and Chris Pappas in New Hampshire.

On Sept. 15, the Senate failed to pass the Clarity Act in a procedural vote, which would have set a regulatory framework for the industry at the federal level. Among multiple reasons why the vote failed, Senate Democrats ultimately said they could not vote for a bill that would allow President Donald Trump to profit personally from the crypto industry, given his millions of dollars in income from multiple digital asset forays. SWC is known for its candidate scorecard, which it has since updated to reflect that vote.

"Following the Senate's recent failure to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, Stand With Crypto's more than three million advocates are shifting their energy and focus fully to ensuring we have pro-crypto champions in office who will carry forward our fight for clear rules of the road," said Mason Lynaugh, executive director of Stand With Crypto, in a statement on Wednesday.

SWC and the broader crypto industry played a significant role in the 2024 elections, spending millions of dollars through super PACs to influence political outcomes. One PAC, Fairshake, spent $12 million in Ohio for crypto-friendly Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024, who defeated former Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Fairshake previously backed two current Senate Democrats last election — Ruben Gallego and Elissa Slotkin — both of whom voted against the Clarity Act earlier this month.

House endorsements 

Over the past year, Stand With Crypto has launched a voter hub that grades lawmakers based on their crypto positions and earlier endorsed a slate of six bipartisan candidates ahead of November. On Wednesday, the group also endorsed more House candidates after endorsing over 30 last month. Those include Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa.

SWC also said it would be spending more on advertising in six House races, including those for Democratic Rep. Don Davis and Republican Rep. Bryan Steil. All of those new House endorsements voted in support of the Clarity Act when the bill passed through the House last year.

"Ahead of Election Day, Stand With Crypto is ensuring that Crypto Voters — a highly motivated,  heterogeneous block of voters committed to the advancement of policies like market structure — have the tools they need to make informed decisions at the polls," Lynaugh said.