Fairshake-Linked Protect Progress PAC Pours $7.8M Into Texas House Runoff
A runoff in Texas is emerging as the latest proving ground for crypto-backed political spending. Federal Election Commission filings show Protect Progress, a political action committee affiliated with Fairshake, ramped up outlays ahead of the vote in Texas’s 18th Congressional District, backing Democratic challenger Christian Menefee while financing ads against incumbent Rep. Al Green.
Records indicate Protect Progress spent $5 million boosting Menefee and another $2.8 million opposing Green, for roughly $7.8 million total, concentrated on the District 18 contest.
Fairshake has said it entered the 2026 election cycle with $193 million in cash on hand, positioning the Texas race as an early test of its next phase of congressional strategy.
Green has been among Congress’s more vocal crypto skeptics. He voted against the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act and opposed the Clarity Act aimed at defining crypto market structure. The crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto has given him an F rating. Speaking on the House floor, Green criticized his opponent for accepting crypto-industry support and said he would not be influenced by "crypto money." Reports suggest Green’s legislative posture has helped make his seat a prime target for industry-aligned campaign spending.
Menefee has also drawn support from the Blockchain Leadership Fund, which is backed by Anchorage Digital and Chainlink Labs. Fairshake’s key backers include Ripple Labs and Coinbase.
Prediction markets are tracking the contest as well. Kalshi initially put Menefee’s win probability at 91%, with Polymarket pricing near that level. In a separate Texas Republican Senate runoff, trading volume in contracts tied to Ken Paxton has topped $16 million.
The race is attracting attention not only for the scale of spending, but for what it could signal in Washington. If a pro-crypto bloc continues using campaign funding to shape House seat math, the trajectory and timing of stablecoin and market-structure legislation could shift accordingly.
