---
title: "Winklevoss PAC Enters Texas Senate Contest With $81,000 Ad Buy"
description: "Digital Freedom Fund backs Ken Paxton in Texas and lifts Ohio spending to $7 million ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms."
url: https://basisdesk.news/news/winklevoss-pac-enters-texas-senate-race
published: 2026-10-23T00:11:14.028Z
modified: 2026-10-23T00:11:14.028Z
section: Regulation & Policy
author: Basis Desk Newsroom (AI-generated, source-verified)
sentiment: neutral
tickers: []
tags: [Digital Freedom Fund, Ken Paxton, Elections, PACs, Gemini, FEC]
license: Quote with attribution to Basis Desk (basisdesk.news). Not financial advice.
---

# Winklevoss PAC Enters Texas Senate Contest With $81,000 Ad Buy

Digital Freedom Fund backs Ken Paxton in Texas and lifts Ohio spending to $7 million ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms.

## At a glance

- **What happened:** Digital Freedom Fund spent over $81,000 on direct mail supporting Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, per an FEC filing.
- **Why it matters:** The expenditures aim to secure a pro-crypto congressional majority after key market structure legislation stalled in the Senate.
- **Who is affected:** US Senate campaigns in Texas, Ohio, and Nebraska, as well as crypto political action committees funding federal races.
- **Takes effect:** 2026-11-03
- **What's next:** The general election takes place on Nov. 3 following the close of early voting across participating states.
- **Status:** announced
- **Primary source:** [Winklevoss PAC moves into Texas Senate race with $81K ad buy](https://cointelegraph.com/news/winklevoss-pac-texas-senate-race-media-paxton-talarico?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound) — cointelegraph.com

## Key points

- Digital Freedom Fund filed FEC disclosures showing over $81,000 spent on direct mail backing Republican Ken Paxton in Texas.
- The Winklevoss-led PAC raised about $34 million through Sept. 30, expanding its Ohio Senate spending for Jon Husted to $7 million.
- Fairshake reported $13 million in new expenditures, including $9 million in Ohio and over $4 million opposing Dan Osborn in Nebraska.

## Editorial remark

- **Context:** Crypto-focused political committees are committing record reserves ahead of the 2026 midterms following the procedural failure of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in the Senate.
- **Impact:** Competitive Senate contests in Texas, Ohio, and Nebraska face millions in targeted media buys that could determine party control and regulatory oversight committees in 2027.
- **Watch:** US midterm election voting concludes on Nov. 3, determining the congressional balance of power ahead of the 2027 legislative session.

Digital Freedom Fund, the super PAC established in 2025 by Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, reported its first independent expenditures in the Texas US Senate race, according to a filing with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) [1]. The committee disbursed more than $81,000 on direct mail media opposing Democratic candidate James Talarico and backing Republican nominee Ken Paxton, following the start of early voting in Texas on Oct. 19 [1]. As of Sept. 30, Digital Freedom Fund had accumulated roughly $34 million in total fundraising, targeting races across Texas, Ohio, and Iowa [1].

The Texas intervention follows primary support for Paxton earlier in the year, when the Anchorage Digital- and Cantor Fitzgerald-backed Fellowship PAC directed $500,000 into advertising ahead of his primary victory against incumbent Senator John Cornyn [1]. Those earlier buys ran through Nxum Group, a marketing agency co-founded by Bo Hines, who previously served as a crypto policy adviser to former President Donald Trump before becoming CEO of Tether US [1]. Digital Freedom Fund also expanded its position in the Ohio Senate race, adding expenditures that brought its aggregate backing of Republican Jon Husted against Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown to approximately $7 million [1].

## Escalating Industry Spending in Midterm Races

The late capital deployment highlights an aggressive push by industry political organizations seeking favorable congressional majorities to advance federal market structure legislation, including the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which stalled during a procedural Senate vote last month [1]. Industry-aligned groups have deployed capital across multiple competitive states, a playbook echoing earlier actions where other committees, including [Crypto PAC Protect Progress](https://basisdesk.news/news/crypto-pac-protect-progress-spends-california-house-race), backed candidates across regional battlegrounds [1].

Outside of Digital Freedom Fund, Fairshake—funded primarily by Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz—disclosed more than $13 million in fresh direct mail spending [1]. That package directed $9 million to back Husted in Ohio and over $4 million to oppose Independent Dan Osborn in Nebraska, elevating Fairshake's cumulative Ohio allocation to roughly $56 million [1]. Meanwhile, the Senate Leadership Fund received over $150 million from Elon Musk and transferred an equivalent sum to the Texas PAC, which has simultaneously run media backing Paxton ahead of the Nov. 3 general election [1].

## Sources

1. [Winklevoss PAC moves into Texas Senate race with $81K ad buy](https://cointelegraph.com/news/winklevoss-pac-texas-senate-race-media-paxton-talarico?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound) — cointelegraph.com, 2026-10-22

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Basis Desk Newsroom · AI-generated, source-verified · https://basisdesk.news/about/how-we-use-ai