Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen’s $22M Election Spending Yields Key Wins

Ripple executive chairman Chris Larsen deployed more than $22 million across federal, state, and local campaigns during the 2026 election cycle, notching victories in pivotal U.S. Senate races, California legislative districts, and San Francisco ballot measures.

National U.S. Senate Investments in Ohio and Texas Diverge From Crypto PAC Spending

Unlike several Silicon Valley cryptocurrency executives who aligned with Republican candidates or industry-wide political action committees, Larsen—whose political giving was detailed by spokesperson Alex Tourk—directed major personal contributions to Democratic U.S. Senate contenders that helped flip control of the upper chamber. Nationally, Larsen contributed $4 million to political committees supporting Democrat Sherrod Brown's victorious U.S. Senate comeback in Ohio.

In Texas, Larsen donated $1.75 million to support Democrat James Talarico's winning U.S. Senate campaign, directly counterbalancing a cryptocurrency industry super PAC backed in part by Ripple corporate funds that spent $1.4 million against Talarico during the primary. Not every federal bet succeeded: Larsen's $4.5 million investment supporting New York assemblymember Alex Bores in a crowded Manhattan congressional primary ended in defeat earlier in the 2026 cycle.

Grow California Leads in 9 of 11 State Legislative Districts Backed by $5 Million Donation

At the state level, Larsen contributed $5 million to Grow California, a bipartisan business-aligned political organization he co-founded with venture capitalist Tim Draper to elect moderate lawmakers in Sacramento. According to Grow California chief strategist Shaudi Fulp, candidates backed by the group were on track to win at least 9 of the 11 California Senate and Assembly districts where it intervened—though Marin and Sonoma Assembly candidate Eric Lucan trailed despite $1.8 million in Grow California independent expenditures.

Separately, Larsen put $5 million into his own advocacy committee, Golden State Promise, and contributed $2.5 million to a political committee initiated by Google cofounder Sergey Brin to oppose a proposed California billionaire wealth tax before the measure was kept off the ballot.

San Francisco Ballot Measures and Supervisor District 10

In San Francisco municipal politics, Larsen contributed $1.5 million toward Mayor Daniel Lurie's governance and public safety ballot package—Propositions D, E, and F—following $700,000 he spent in June 2026 to help defeat the city's "Overpaid CEO Tax." Larsen also donated $500,000 to support Theo Ellington's successful campaign for the District 10 seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.