Rep. Bill Huizenga, the No. 2 Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, lost his reelection bid to Democrat Sean McCann, the Associated Press called Wednesday afternoon, despite about $1 million in support from the crypto super PAC Fairshake.
With more than 97% of votes counted earlier today, McCann led Huizenga 50.1% to 48.3% in Michigan’s 4th Congressional District, a gap of about 7,000 votes out of nearly 300,000 cast. The race had been rated “lean Republican” heading into Tuesday.
Huizenga, an eight-term congressman and the committee’s vice chair, is the highest-ranking Republican on the panel to lose. He is not the only crypto ally on it to go down.
Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, who chairs the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence, lost to Democrat Mitchell Berman 52% to 48%. The AP called that race at 11:48 p.m. Tuesday.
Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri, who chairs the capital markets subcommittee, lost to Democrat Fred Wellman. Rep. Zach Nunn of Iowa lost to state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, and Rep. Mike Lawler of New York conceded to Democrat Cait Conley before the AP called his race.
Fairshake’s $1 million bets come up short
Fairshake committed at least $1 million in October to each of six House incumbents, among them Huizenga, Steil and committee Chairman French Hill of Arkansas. The super PAC reported spending $1,019,166 to support Huizenga in the general election, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
All 32 House incumbents the Fairshake network backed this fall voted for the CLARITY Act when it passed the House 294-134 in July 2025, CNBC reported. The network entered September with about $120.4 million in cash.
The crypto money was a small slice of the Huizenga race. Outside groups reported more than $25 million in spending in the district, FEC filings show, with House Majority PAC alone putting about $6 million against the Republican.
Two of Fairshake’s three Republican $1 million picks on the committee have now lost in midterms. Hill’s own race had not been called by the AP as of Wednesday afternoon. He led Democrat Chris Jones by about 4,400 votes, or 50.9% to 49.1%, with 99% of the expected vote counted.
What the losses mean for crypto in the House
Democrats won control of the House on Tuesday, which hands the committee gavel to their side regardless of Hill’s result. Rep. Maxine Waters of California, the panel’s top Democrat and its chair from 2019 to 2023, is in line to return to the post. Nineteen Financial Services Democrats backed her in October against a possible challenge from Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois, Politico reported.
Steil’s loss also leaves the digital assets subcommittee without its chair. Huizenga sat on that panel too. Journalist Eleanor Terrett noted that the subcommittee’s name, scope and membership are set each Congress, so Democrats could rename, re-scope or eliminate it.
Huizenga played a role in moving the stablecoin bill President Donald Trump signed in 2025, and he led the committee’s investigations into former SEC Chair Gary Gensler during the Biden administration.
The industry’s main legislative goal is still the CLARITY Act, which failed a Senate cloture vote 49-50 on Sept. 15. House Democrats are already weighing their own market structure bill with a bigger role for the SEC.
Crypto groups spent heavily to avoid this outcome, with about $176 million committed to more than 100 races this cycle. Losing Huizenga and Steil removes two of the Republicans who shaped crypto legislation on the committee, and both seats flip to Democrats.
Bitcoin itself rallied after the Democratic sweep, even as the industry’s allies in Congress lost ground.
