All articles tagged with #steve toth
U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw blames a culture of misinformation and the power of clickbait for his Texas 2nd District primary defeat to state Rep. Steve Toth, saying attacks over insider trading and red-flag laws were amplified by conservative influencers and memes, making it hard to counter narratives even as he contends his financial disclosures were modest and that not all voters sought factual debates.
A Texas billionaire donor, Robert Marling, funded about two-thirds of a pro-Toth super PAC’s anti-Crenshaw campaign with roughly $675,000, helping Steve Toth defeat Rep. Dan Crenshaw 55% to 40% in the Republican primary. The feud between Crenshaw and Marling—centered on district dynamics and ideological differences—was amplified by mailers and TV ads paid for by Marling, with Trump not endorsing Crenshaw and Cruz involved on the opposing side. The loss illustrates how a single affluent donor can seize a GOP primary in a single district.
In a tight Texas GOP primary for the 2nd District, Rep. Dan Crenshaw lost to hard‑line state Rep. Steve Toth, a result framed as a rebuke of Crenshaw’s occasional breaks with Republicans and his stance on the 2020 election amid strong Trump loyalty in a solidly Republican Houston-area district. Trump did not endorse either candidate, but backers including Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson helped Toth, highlighting the party’s hard-right drift and the vulnerability of incumbents who cross Trump-era lines.
Steve Toth defeated Rep. Dan Crenshaw in Texas’s 2nd District Republican primary, unseating Crenshaw—the first incumbent to lose renomination in the 2026 cycle. Toth ran on a more Trump-aligned platform and secured a late endorsement from Sen. Ted Cruz, challenging Crenshaw’s foreign policy and immigration stances; Crenshaw, who had backed Ukraine aid, had tried to tie himself closely to Trump. The district remains solidly Republican, with Toth favored to win in November.
State Rep. Steve Toth declared victory in the Republican primary to challenge U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw in Texas’s 2nd Congressional District, opening a wide early lead as Crenshaw’s fundraising edge did not prevent a surge for Toth and signaling a contest over the GOP’s ideological direction with endorsements from Cruz and Turning Point Action.