Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw lost his GOP primary to a hardline MAGA challenger after falling victim to the Republican Party’s redistricting efforts in the state.
State Rep. Steve Toth trounced the incumbent by 16 percentage points in Tuesday’s primary election in the solidly red Texas 2nd Congressional District after a successful campaign painting Crenshaw as insufficiently conservative or loyal enough to Donald Trump.
The president did not endorse either candidate in the primary, but the lack of support arguably hurt Crenshaw more, as he was the only House Republican in Texas running for re-election without Trump’s backing.
Crenshaw may also have been doomed by the GOP’s desperate effort to gain an advantage in November’s midterms through redistricting.
In August, Texas redrew its congressional map at the urging of the Trump administration, giving the GOP five new seats. As part of the new maps, all of Toth’s district was moved into Crenshaw’s new seat, including his home base of Montgomery County.
Crenshaw’s district had previously been almost entirely in Harris County, but much of that area was carved out in the redistricting effort.
In a July 2025 interview with Punchbowl News, Toth said of Crenshaw: “He was not in good shape—that’s to put it lightly. In Montgomery County, his unfavorables were really high, through the roof… So we’re very encouraged by it.”
Crenshaw was once one of the GOP’s biggest stars in the House, even appearing on Saturday Night Live shortly after he won his first congressional election in 2018.
While firmly pro-Trump, Crenshaw has broken with the president on several issues, including rejecting his false claims about the 2020 election. A former Navy SEAL known for his distinctive eye patch after losing an eye in Afghanistan, Crenshaw frequently clashed with some of the party’s more hardline and far-right figures, particularly over his staunch support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.
Crenshaw has also faced a series of controversies. In February 2025, he was caught on a hot mic after an interview on British TV saying that if he ever met former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, “I’ll f—ing kill him.”
Carlson had previously attacked Crenshaw, labeling him one of “the dumbest” Republicans and giving him the nickname “Eyepatch McCain.”
Crenshaw was also reportedly banned by House Republicans from official congressional international travel for three months after an “alcohol-related episode” during a foreign delegation trip to Mexico.
He allegedly “toasted” a “crude” joke made by a Mexican official in August 2025 that made a woman present “uncomfortable,” according to Punchbowl News. Crenshaw dismissed the allegations as “clickbait.”
Toth, who was endorsed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, is now all but certain to win November’s general election, given how heavily Republican the state’s 2nd Congressional District is.
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