Republican challenger Steve Toth defeated U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw on Tuesday night, ousting the only Texas House Republican not endorsed by President Donald Trump heading into the election. The nation’s first big primary of 2026.
Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL whose independent streak has sometimes clashed with fellow Republicans, spent the primary trying to fend off attacks from the party’s hard right that he was out of step with Trump’s agenda.
Toth, a state representative and member of the Legislature’s hard-right GOP caucus, received a major endorsement late in the primary from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
Crenshaw, who lost his right eye when he was hit by an IED in Afghanistan in 2012, had clashed with Cruz over the senator’s support for Trump’s baseless claim that he won the 2020 presidential election.
Crenshaw was one of the few Republicans in Texas Candidates for Congress in 2022 Who acknowledged that President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 was legitimate, a position that has sometimes put him at odds with fellow Republicans.
Crenshaw also angered conservatives when a video went viral of him criticizing some Republican politicians as “frauds” and “performers” who simply tell conservative voters what they want to hear.
Crenshaw, 41, was seeking a fifth term. His 2nd Congressional District extends to the north and east Houston suburbs.