Crypto-focused political action committees poured about $9 million into Texas elections this spring, backing candidates on both sides of the aisle and notching wins with Democrats and Republicans alike. The spending — disclosed in recent filings with the Texas Ethics Commission — marks one of the most aggressive state-level pushes by the digital-asset industry ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The Texas spending breakdown
The bulk of the money went to independent expenditure ads and direct contributions in competitive state House and Senate primaries, as well as a handful of down-ballot judicial races. PACs including the Crypto Freedom PAC and the Blockchain Innovation Fund targeted districts where cryptocurrency regulation — from mining incentives to exchange licensing — was already a live issue in Austin. Filings show the groups split roughly evenly between Republican and Democratic candidates, a deliberate strategy to build allies on both sides of the Capitol rotunda.
Bipartisan wins
Of the 22 candidates that received the heaviest support from crypto PACs, at least 14 won their primaries or runoff elections, according to race calls from local outlets and the Texas Secretary of State. Victories spanned a wide ideological range: a rural East Texas Republican who sponsored a bill to exempt crypto miners from certain utility taxes, and a Houston Democrat who pushed for a state-level blockchain task force. The results show the industry is willing to back pragmatists in both parties rather than sticking to a single ideological lane.
What it signals for 2026
Texas has become a laboratory for crypto policy — the state passed a digital assets bill last session and is home to a growing cluster of mining operations. The $9 million figure is modest compared to federal PAC spending, but the bipartisan success rate suggests the strategy is working. Other statehouses are watching. Legislators in Ohio, Florida, and Arizona have already introduced bills inspired by Texas's approach. This week, a spokesperson for a national crypto trade group said the Texas results would inform the industry's 2026 electoral playbook.
The next concrete test comes in August, when the Texas legislature reconvenes for a special session on property tax reform. Crypto PACs have already signaled they'll be tracking how their newly elected allies vote.
