NBC News projects state Rep. Steve Toth defeated Crenshaw, who was the only GOP House member running for re-election in Texas who didn't hav
Megan Lebowitz and Ben Kamisar at NBC News:
Texas state Rep. Steve Toth defeated Rep. Dan Crenshaw in a Republican primary in Texas, NBC News projects, unseating the incumbent after a race that centered on which candidate more closely aligned with President Donald Trump. Crenshaw becomes the first incumbent member of Congress to lose renomination of the 2026 midterm election cycle. Toth challenged Crenshaw — the lone sitting GOP congressman running for re-election in Tuesday’s primaries who didn’t have Trump’s endorsement — from the right, arguing that the congressman’s foreign policy and immigration views did not sufficiently align with the MAGA movement. Toth, an ordained pastor, also secured a late endorsement from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Crenshaw 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 the four-term congressman sought to tie himself closely to the president throughout the campaign in the solidly Republican 2nd District.
[...] Crenshaw was first elected to Congress in 2018 after winning a crowded Republican primary. He previously served as a Navy SEAL and he lost his right eye during a combat tour in Afghanistan. After his injury, he deployed overseas two more times.
A monumental defeat for incumbent Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R) in TX-02, as far-right State Rep. Steve Toth beat him decisively in the GOP Primary.
This race is a sign that the MAGA wing is the ascendant force in the GOP, and that being 95% MAGA isn’t good enough anymore.