Crypto-aligned Sentinel Action Fund endorsed Republican Jon Husted for Ohio’s 2026 US Senate race while pledging more than $8 million in state spending alongside sister group Right Vote. The push lands as Ohio’s strategic Bitcoin reserve debate faces conflict-of-interest scrutiny tied to Vivek Ramaswamy’s disclosed stake in Bitcoin-treasury company Strive.
Key Takeaways
- Sentinel Action Fund endorsed Republican Jon Husted for Ohio’s 2026 US Senate race and positioned itself as the “only conservative Super PAC advancing pro-crypto candidates and supporting pro-crypto innovation.”
- A pledged Ohio spend of more than $8 million from Sentinel Action Fund and Right Vote had not yet appeared as 2026 disbursements supporting Husted in FEC filings as of April 14.
- The PAC reported raising about $9 million from January 2025 through March 2026, including $750,000 from Solana Policy Institute and $250,000 from Multicoin Capital.
- Vivek Ramaswamy disclosed a 10% stake in Strive on April 6, and Strive reported holding about 13,768 BTC worth more than $1 billion as of April 15.
Sentinel Action Fund Backs Jon Husted as Ohio’s 2026 Senate Race Heats Up
Sentinel Action Fund, a crypto-aligned conservative super PAC, endorsed Republican Jon Husted for Ohio’s 2026 US Senate race in a notice published April 15. In the endorsement, the group described itself as the “only conservative Super PAC advancing pro-crypto candidates and supporting pro-crypto innovation.”
Husted is an incumbent by appointment, not by election. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed him in January 2025 to replace JD Vance after Vance became vice president alongside President Donald Trump following the 2024 election.
The calendar matters. Ohio’s Republican Senate primary is scheduled for May 5, with Husted facing a field of Republican candidates. On the Democratic side, former Sen. Sherrod Brown is set to face Ron Kincaid in the primary.
Sentinel Action Fund President Jessica Anderson framed the endorsement as a contrast with Brown, saying Brown had “stood in the way of pro-innovation policies when it comes to digital assets.”
The $8M+ Ohio Spend Pledge vs. the FEC Snapshot Showing No 2026 Husted Disbursements
Sentinel Action Fund and its sister organization, Right Vote, pledged to spend more than $8 million in Ohio. That headline number is the political signal, but execution is the tradable part.
As of Federal Election Commission filings dated April 14, there were no disbursements supporting Husted in 2026. The gap does not disprove intent, but it does mean the market should treat the $8M+ push as unconfirmed until spending shows up in FEC disbursements tied to 2026 activity.
For traders tracking policy risk, this distinction matters because super PACs can raise and spend unlimited sums to influence elections, but the timing and channel of spend drives narrative velocity. Without recorded disbursements, the endorsement reads more like positioning ahead of the May 5 primary than a confirmed ad-buy wave.
Who’s Funding the PAC: $9M Raised, With Named Crypto Donors
Sentinel Action Fund reported raising about $9 million from January 2025 through March 2026. The donor list included $750,000 from Solana Policy Institute and $250,000 from Multicoin Capital.
Those contributions anchor the PAC’s crypto alignment in disclosed funding, not just messaging. For market participants, the practical implication is that Ohio is again attracting organized, well-capitalized crypto political activity, which can spill into state-level policy narratives that touch custody, reserves, and regulatory posture.
Signals to Watch for Crypto super PACs target Ohio 2026
The first checkpoint is mechanical. FEC updates for Sentinel Action Fund and Right Vote will show whether 2026 Ohio disbursements begin appearing, and whether any are explicitly tied to Husted.
The second is the May 5 primary result and any escalation in PAC spending that follows. A contested outcome can pull spend forward, while a clean result can shift budgets toward the general election.
The third is policy. Any formal movement on an Ohio strategic BTC reserve proposal, including bill text, committee action, or treasury guidance, would turn a campaign talking point into a governance timeline.
The fourth is disclosure risk around Strive. Further clarifications about Strive’s BTC holdings and valuation assumptions beyond the reported 13,768 BTC figure would shape how quickly the conflict narrative can be priced into Ohio’s reserve debate.
Ohio as a 2026 Bellwether After $40M+ Crypto PAC Spending in 2024 — Marcus Hale’s Take
I treat Ohio as a live test case for how crypto-aligned money tries to manufacture policy optionality ahead of 2026. The state already saw more than $40 million in crypto-backed PAC spending in 2024 to support Bernie Moreno’s successful run against Sherrod Brown, so the new Husted endorsement fits a familiar playbook.
The threshold that matters is whether the $8M+ pledge turns into visible, Ohio-specific disbursements before the May 5 primary. In parallel, the real test is whether the strategic BTC reserve discussion can survive the governance-risk narrative created by Vivek Ramaswamy’s disclosed 10% stake in Strive, a Bitcoin-treasury company reporting 13,768 BTC on its balance sheet. If spending and policy both move from talk to paperwork, Ohio stops being a headline and becomes a measurable driver of regulatory and treasury-adoption expectations.
Sources
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