Fellowship PAC Channels Millions Into Texas Senate Contest With Crypto Industry Backing
Federal Election Commission documents filed Tuesday show the Fellowship PAC committed over $3 million to political advertising campaigns supporting various United States politicians, with more than $1.7 million directed toward Texas races.
The Fellowship political action committee, which maintains close ties to the cryptocurrency sector and operates under the leadership of Tether's government affairs chief, has disclosed expenditures exceeding $3 million for advertising campaigns connected to United States Senate and House of Representatives contests, with the bulk of these funds allocated to backing a Republican contender in Texas.
According to Tuesday's submission to the United States Federal Election Commission (FEC), the Fellowship PAC revealed it allocated $1.75 million toward supporting Ken Paxton, who currently serves as Texas Attorney General. The Republican politician is competing against John Cornyn, the sitting Senator, in the May 26 runoff election that will decide which candidate represents the party in the 2026 United States Senate race.
Beyond the support directed toward Paxton, the political action committee documented advertising expenditures of $350,000 for Mike Collins, who is running in Georgia's Senate contest, another $350,000 supporting Barry Moore in Alabama's Senate race, along with $250,000 and $350,000 dedicated to Blake Miguez and Julia Letlow, respectively, for their House and Senate campaigns in Louisiana. The entirety of these expenditures were processed through the Nxum Group, a marketing firm that was co-founded by Bo Hines, who previously served as a White House cryptocurrency adviser and currently holds the position of Tether US CEO.
The Fellowship organization made its debut in September, asserting it had secured upwards of $100 million from investors whose identities remain undisclosed but who share alignment with the cryptocurrency sector. Despite the PAC subsequently documenting $11 million in total contributions to the FEC, neither additional filings nor public documentation have revealed any supporters with confirmed associations to the crypto industry.
Political action committees backed by cryptocurrency interests, such as Fellowship and Fairshake, are anticipated to play a significant role in shaping the outcomes of the 2026 United States midterm elections by deploying substantial resources on media campaigns and advertising initiatives to back candidates they deem supportive of cryptocurrency policies. Fairshake, along with its associated organizations, documented spending that surpassed $131 million throughout 2024, potentially swaying voter sentiment in crucial battleground states.
Ken Paxton's tenure serving as Texas Attorney General has been marked by persistent corruption accusations, culminating in his impeachment by the state's House of Representatives during 2023 — though he subsequently received acquittal from the Texas Senate. Regardless of whether Paxton or Cornyn prevails, the winner will presumably compete against James Talarico, the Democratic party candidate, in the United States Senate election scheduled for November.
Kalshi suspends and fines Texas candidate over insider trading
With United States state primary elections ongoing and the general election drawing nearer, numerous participants on prediction market platforms are wagering on the results of events tied to both major and minor electoral contests, with some of the candidates themselves participating in such activities.
The prediction markets platform Kalshi made an announcement on Wednesday regarding financial sanctions and prohibitions imposed on three political candidates from Minnesota, Texas and Virginia following the discovery that they had placed wagers on their own respective electoral races. The candidate from Texas, identified as Ezekiel Enriquez, "purchased less than $100 worth of contracts related to his own candidacy" in the race for Texas' 21st Congressional District, as stated by Kalshi.
"Under the terms of the settlement, Kalshi suspended Enriquez from direct or indirect access to Kalshi for a period of 5 years and imposed a financial penalty of $784.20," said the company.