Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) thanked the cryptocurrency industry on Tuesday for ousting former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) during the 2024 election, highlighting the growing influence the sector has on politics.
While Brown was replaced by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) last fall, he didn’t stay out of the game for long. On Monday, the progressive Democrat launched his comeback campaign to unseat Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) next year.s
Still, Scott credited the crypto sector’s Fairshake super PAC network that backed Moreno with more than $40 million for unseating Brown in Ohio’s toss-up Senate race.
“I gotta tell you — I mean, thank you to all of y’all for getting rid of Sherrod Brown,” Scott said at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium on Tuesday. “He’s running again, by the way.”
“Literally, the industry put Bernie Moreno in the Senate, and he’s on the Banking Committee,” he added.
Scott currently chairs the Senate Banking Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which has launched attack ads against Brown since announcing his next Senate bid.
While Scott gave all the credit for Brown’s loss to the crypto industry, a spokesperson for Moreno told Punchbowl News Brown was defeated because of “overwhelming grassroots support in all 88 counties and an incredible team of supporters and allies.”
SHERROD BROWN WILL STRUGGLE TO UNSEAT JON HUSTED
Shifting his attention to the 2026 midterm elections, Brown is looking to challenge Husted, who was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) to fill the vacancy left by Vice President JD Vance. Brown lost his bid for a fourth term to Moreno by about 3.5%.
Earlier this month, Moreno criticized the “[Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)] stooge” for considering another Senate run after the “guy already lost.” Schumer lobbied Brown to run against Husted over a run for Ohio governor.