OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
12:33 AM – Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Four-term Representative Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who has clashed with President Donald Trump over election certification and foreign aid, lost the Texas Republican House primary to State Representative Steve Toth.
Toth, 65, received 55.8% of the vote, according to the Associated Press, while incumbent Crenshaw (R-Texas), 41, had 40.7% with 97% reporting.
Crenshaw’s loss makes him the first member of the U.S. House of Representatives to lose re-election in the 2026 election cycle.
Toth posted a video on X, set to the “Rocky” theme music, showing him, his family and his supporters reacting to early reports projecting his win on Tuesday night. He also said in the video that he had received a congratulatory phone call from the White House.
“The president is watching,” he said.
As conservatives questioned Crenshaw’s loyalty to the party and the president, he notably did not receive endorsements from major Republican leaders, including President Donald Trump, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who instead opted to endorse Toth.
“I am proud to endorse @SteveTothTX for Congress in Texas’s 2nd Congressional District. Steve faithfully served the people of Texas in the Texas House of Representatives, championing our Texas values of liberty, limited government, and constitutional governance,” Cruz said in a post on X in February.
Toth was also endorsed by Turning Point USA, the House Freedom Caucus, Texas Right to Life and 21 Republican colleagues from the Texas state legislature.
Crenshaw, on the other hand, was endorsed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.). He also received the backing of several major conservative organizations, including the National Border Patrol Council, the National Rifle Association, and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
Crenshaw had significant fundraising advantages over his GOP opponents, outraising him by over $1.3 million. However, Texas’s newly redrawn map meant that parts of Toth’s home district were now included in Crenshaw’s region, giving the challenger a “home-court” advantage.
Toth will now face Shaun Finnie, who clinched the Democrat nomination after running uncontested in the primary to represent Texas’s 2nd Congressional District, which encompasses areas surrounding Houston.
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