Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw has been unseated in a primary election by state legislator Steve Toth, following significant disagreements with MAGA Republicans during his tenure in Washington.
Crenshaw, who has served four terms representing Texas’ Second Congressional District in the Houston area and is a former Navy SEAL, was defeated on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
This unexpected loss marks a triumph for Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who recently withdrew his support from Crenshaw and backed Toth instead.
Toth, an ordained pastor and the owner of two pool maintenance businesses, criticized Crenshaw for not aligning closely enough with conservative values and for prioritizing international matters over domestic issues.
In the 2026 primaries, former President Donald Trump endorsed every Republican incumbent seeking re-election in the House, with the notable exception of Crenshaw. Texas Governor Greg Abbott also chose not to support Crenshaw.
Trump had similarly refrained from endorsing Crenshaw in 2024 after the congressman did not challenge the certification of Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election.
Crenshaw also raised eyebrows last year when he was apparently caught on a hot mic threatening to kill former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Back in February of 2025, he noted that he had not met Carlson in person, but then said, ‘If I ever meet him, I’ll f***ing kill him.’ He then apparently went on to call Carlson ‘the worst person.’
Representative Dan Crenshaw attends a news conference with Republicans on January 4, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington
Texas State Representative Steve Toth speaks in Spring, Texas, on Monday, January 10, 2022
Back in February of 2025, Crenshaw noted that he had not met Carlson (pictured) in person, but then said, ‘If I ever meet him, I’ll f***ing kill him’
The remarks came after a fiery interview in which Crenshaw criticized Carlson’s opposition to American aid to Ukraine, saying he ‘doesn’t know what he’s talking about,’ according to a Politico report.
Carlson hosted Toth on his podcast in October and praised him as a candidate who could ‘restore the party to sanity,’ by defeating Crenshaw, ‘an unbalanced warmonger.’
Crenshaw, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, also apparently nearly caused an international incident last year, allegedly making inappropriate remarks to a female Mexican official during an August meeting, according to Punchbowl News.
The congressman’s conduct reportedly alarmed officials at the CIA’s Mexico City station enough that they sent a cable to the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, reporting what they viewed as unprofessional conduct tied to drinking, as well as a lack of decorum in front of Mexican officials.
The remarks toasted by Crenshaw allegedly made a woman in the meeting uncomfortable, per sources who spoke with Punchbowl.
Crenshaw was visiting America’s southern neighbor as head of the House Intelligence Committee’s cartel task force.
That is a role he no longer holds.
While Crenshaw voted reliably with Republican leadership, his acceptance of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, his denunciations of right-wing ‘grifters,’ and his public spats with big-named conservative figures placed him in the crosshairs.
