According to Woofun AI, the Democratic Party regained control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, dealing a major setback to the crypto industry's political influence.

Sherrod Brown defeated Jon Husted in Ohio, putting Elizabeth Warren in a position to potentially chair the Senate Banking Committee.

Kyle Bligen, executive director of the Decentralized Research Center, pointed out that the next Congress will usher in a dramatically different environment for the crypto industry in Washington, and the industry must prepare for stricter regulation.

The Ohio race became the key turning point of this election.

Despite various crypto political action committees spending roughly $63 million in an attempt to keep Jon Husted in office, former Senator Sherrod Brown ultimately won the special election to fill the remainder of the term of former Senator JD Vance, who will step down in January 2029.

Brown may seek a senior position on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees agencies including the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

This outcome stands in stark contrast to the crypto industry's major victory in 2024, when Fairshake spent $40 million to help Bernie Moreno defeat Brown in another Ohio Senate seat race.

Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini Exchange (GEMI.US), viewed Brown's return as a warning to the U.S. Congress, saying that provoking the crypto camp will have serious consequences.

It is worth noting that 2026 crypto-related spending was only part of a massive influx of outside money, with total independent expenditures in this election exceeding $350 million.

Brown even made crypto-related spending a central theme of his campaign, emphasizing in his campaign messaging that crypto billionaires must never be allowed to decide election outcomes.

Data compiled by Woofun AI shows that Fairshake still has more than $67 million available for the 2028 elections, and its spokesperson Jeff Witt stated that newly elected lawmakers will face a choice between protecting consumers and hindering industry development.

In elections in other states, the gains and losses of crypto political action committees presented a mixed picture.

Nebraska became a major victory for Fairshake-affiliated group "Defend American Jobs," which spent $13.5 million against independent candidate Dan Osborn, ultimately helping Pete Ricketts retain his Senate seat.

Witt emphasized that in 2026 Fairshake played an important role in multiple competitive races across the country and will continue to do so in 2028.

The political action committee also secured Senate election victories in states with strong Republican leaning, supporting Barry Moore in Alabama and Andy Barr in Kentucky.

However, in elections in other regions, related spending failed to achieve the desired results.

In the Illinois Democratic primary, the Fairshake network spent approximately $10 million trying to prevent Juliana Stratton from winning the nomination, but ultimately failed.

In Massachusetts, the crypto-backed Commonwealth Unity Fund spent roughly $700,000 to help John Deaton win, but he still lost.

In Texas, Ken Paxton received support from crypto political action committees in the Republican runoff against John Cornyn, but lost to James Talarico.

On the House side, despite $1.9 million in funding support, Digital Assets Subcommittee Chairman Bryan Steil still lost to Democrat Mitchell Berman, delivering a new setback to the industry.

Although the change in congressional control may slow the pace of crypto-related legislation, the industry's development trajectory has not changed.

Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, emphasized that the GENIUS Act has officially taken effect, stablecoin rules are being gradually formulated, and regulators remain committed to promoting tokenization and the development of digital asset markets.

The advocacy group "Stand With Crypto" tallied that among 35 Senate races called as of 9:45 PM UTC on November 4, 19 winning candidates supported crypto while 8 opposed it.

Although Texas's Talarico was funded by crypto political action committee opponents, as a state legislator he voted in favor of establishing a Texas Bitcoin reserve plan and is regarded as a crypto supporter.

Jessica Martinez, head of U.S. policy at Fireblocks, noted that many newly elected lawmakers lack crypto experience, and early education will be crucial to shaping the Democratic policy agenda.