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MaddowBlog-Why Texas' Crenshaw became the first member of Congress to lose in 2026
The GOP congressman might have been a Republican lawmaker wedded to party orthodoxy on most issues, but he wasn’t MAGA. It cost him his career.
Remember when Dan Crenshaw arrived on Capitol Hill and was seen as a “rising star�
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-03-04T16:44:19.911Z
Seven years later, the Texas Republican lost his primary — not because he failed to vote with his party, but because he just wasn’t MAGA enough.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/why-texas-crenshaw-became-the-first-member-of-congress-to-lose-in-2026
The vast majority of members of Congress will learn in November whether they’ve been re-elected, but some won’t have to wait quite that long. The Texas Tribune reported:
When Crenshaw arrived on Capitol Hill seven years ago, countless reports included the words “rising star” in the same sentence as his name. The New York Times described the young Texas Republican as “a charismatic, Harvard-educated retired Navy SEAL who wore a distinctive eye patch after losing his right eye during a deployment.”
The question at the time wasn’t whether he’d climb the ranks in GOP politics, but rather how high he’d go....
Except that didn’t happen — at least not in terms of his voting record. Crenshaw was as doctrinaire a member as the average House Republican, toeing the party line throughout his career on practically every major bill that reached the floor. As MS NOW’s Sydney Carruth explained during Tuesday night’s live-blog coverage, “His background is awash with support for conservative legislation, Trump’s harsh immigration policies and a proposal to end Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care for minors. Crenshaw’s X profile promotes a hard-line approach to fighting Mexican drug cartels, a priority frequently touted by the Trump administration.”
The Texan did, however, make some intraparty enemies: Crenshaw had a habit of mocking the House Freedom Caucus (he called its members “performance artists”); he distanced himself from Trump-fueled election conspiracy theories and election denialism; and he made no secret of his disagreements with right-wing media personalities such as Tucker Carlson.
For many on the right, this sealed the congressman’s fate: Crenshaw might have been a Republican lawmaker wedded to party orthodoxy on most issues, but he wasn’t MAGA.
That cost him his career.
State Rep. Steve Toth beat incumbent U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw for the Republican nomination in Texas’ 2nd Congressional District, coming one step closer to representing the Houston-area seat.
Toth opened a wide lead in the Republican primary on Tuesday as results came in and declared victory hours before The Associated Press called the race in his favor.
When Crenshaw arrived on Capitol Hill seven years ago, countless reports included the words “rising star” in the same sentence as his name. The New York Times described the young Texas Republican as “a charismatic, Harvard-educated retired Navy SEAL who wore a distinctive eye patch after losing his right eye during a deployment.”
The question at the time wasn’t whether he’d climb the ranks in GOP politics, but rather how high he’d go....
Except that didn’t happen — at least not in terms of his voting record. Crenshaw was as doctrinaire a member as the average House Republican, toeing the party line throughout his career on practically every major bill that reached the floor. As MS NOW’s Sydney Carruth explained during Tuesday night’s live-blog coverage, “His background is awash with support for conservative legislation, Trump’s harsh immigration policies and a proposal to end Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care for minors. Crenshaw’s X profile promotes a hard-line approach to fighting Mexican drug cartels, a priority frequently touted by the Trump administration.”
The Texan did, however, make some intraparty enemies: Crenshaw had a habit of mocking the House Freedom Caucus (he called its members “performance artists”); he distanced himself from Trump-fueled election conspiracy theories and election denialism; and he made no secret of his disagreements with right-wing media personalities such as Tucker Carlson.
For many on the right, this sealed the congressman’s fate: Crenshaw might have been a Republican lawmaker wedded to party orthodoxy on most issues, but he wasn’t MAGA.
That cost him his career.