GOP challenger Steve Toth ousts Rep. Dan Crenshaw in Texas primary
[March 04, 2026]
Republican challenger Steve Toth defeated U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw
on Tuesday night, ousting the only House Republican in Texas who
President Donald Trump didn't endorse heading into the nation's first
big primary of 2026.
Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL whose independent streak sometimes clashed
with fellow Republicans, spent the primary trying to fend off attacks
from the party's hard right that he was not in step with Trump's agenda.
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Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, attends a news conference with Republicans,
Jan. 4, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin,
File) |
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Toth, a state representative and member of the GOP’s hard-right
caucus in the Legislature, picked up a big endorsement late in
the primary from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
“This campaign has been a referendum on representatives who
campaign one way and govern another, and the people have
spoken,” Toth said in a statement after his victory.
Crenshaw, who lost his right eye when he was hit with an
improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2012, had clashed
with Cruz over the senator's support of Trump's unfounded claim
that he won the 2020 presidential election.
Crenshaw was one of the few Texas Republican candidates for
Congress in 2022 who acknowledged that President Joe Biden's
victory in 2020 was legitimate, a position that occasionally
found him at odds with fellow Republicans.
Crenshaw also drew the ire of conservatives when a video clip
went viral of him criticizing some Republican politicians as
“grifters” and “performance artists” who simply tell
conservative voters what they want to hear.
The 41-year-old Crenshaw was seeking his fifth term. His 2nd
Congressional District spans the suburbs north and east of
Houston.
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