Texas state Rep. Steve Toth defeated Rep. Dan Crenshaw in a Republican primary in Texas, NBC News projects, unseating Crenshaw after a race that centered on which candidate more closely aligned with President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Crenshaw becomes the first member of Congress to lose renomination in the 2026 midterm election cycle. <\/p>\n
Toth challenged Crenshaw \u2014 the lone GOP House member running for re-election in Tuesday\u2019s primaries who didn\u2019t have Trump\u2019s endorsement<\/a> \u2014 from the right, arguing that his foreign policy and immigration views did not sufficiently align with those of the MAGA movement. Toth, an ordained pastor, also secured a late endorsement<\/a> from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. <\/p>\n Crenshaw, who is in his fourth term, has at times bucked his party by backing aid for Ukraine and criticizing Trump allies for their claims that the 2020 election was stolen. But he sought to tie himself closely to Trump throughout the campaign in the solidly Republican 2nd District. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you think I\u2019m not MAGA enough, then you\u2019re not following me on social media, that\u2019s the reality,\u201d Crenshaw said in a February interview with the Houston Chronicle\u2019s editorial board <\/a>\u201cIf you don\u2019t think I support Trump enough, then you\u2019re not following me, you\u2019re not listening to a thing I say. I\u2019m out there defending his policies pretty hard and have defended them in extremely hard places in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n More recently, Crenshaw praised the United States\u2019 recent military operation in Iran and said after<\/a> the State of the Union address that he was \u201cproud to stand unapologetically for this country with President Trump.\u201d <\/p>\n On his campaign website, Crenshaw also sought to address claims that he \u201chas abandoned President Trump and does not support his America First Agenda.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cPay no attention to the grifters online who lie about Dan\u2019s record,\u201d his website read. \u201cThey create this fake outrage for clickbait because that\u2019s how they make their living.\u201d<\/p>\n Crenshaw was first elected to Congress in 2018 after he won a crowded Republican primary. He was a Navy SEAL, and he lost his right eye during a combat tour in Afghanistan. After his injury, he deployed overseas two more times. <\/p>\n On the campaign trail, Toth played into his reputation as one of the state Legislature\u2019s most conservative members<\/a> and his past endorsements from Trump for his previous bids for office.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been really consistent \u2014 I was endorsed by President Trump in 2022 and 2024. Why?\u201d Toth said at a campaign event he posted a video of<\/a> last month. \u201cBecause I really believe that we\u2019ve gotta fight against, we\u2019ve gotta go against the grain, which is: Republicans win elections, they take office. Democrats win elections and they wield power.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"State](\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-03\/260302-steve-toth-ew-143p-94cdf3.jpg\")
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