President Donald Trump has endorsed every House Republican running for re-election in the first primaries of 2026 on March 3 — except one: Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
And unlike dozens of other GOP lawmakers in Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas who have received Trump’s blessing, Crenshaw is actually facing a competitive primary. Texas state Rep. Steve Toth is arguing that Crenshaw’s foreign policy and immigration positions are out of step with the “Make America Great Again” wing of the party.
Crenshaw has responded forcefully to the challenge. The four-term congressman significantly outraised Toth and is outspending him on the airwaves, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, running TV spots that emphasize how “Crenshaw stands with Trump.”
But the lack of blessing from the president, whose endorsement shapes Republican primaries up and down the ballot, is a notable omission for Crenshaw, who has tangled with prominent conservative personalities who are boosting Toth’s insurgent campaign in part by questioning Crenshaw’s loyalty to Trump. Crenshaw argues that he is in lockstep with Trump, but he has also staunchly backed aid for Ukraine in its fight against an invading Russia, breaking with others in the Republican Party. And he notably distanced himself from Trump’s false claims in 2020 that the presidential election had been stolen, later criticizing unnamed Republicans for pushing the “lie” that the election could have been overturned.
The race to embrace Trump on both sides of the contest is another sign of how standing by the president has become one of the most important issues in Republican primaries across the country, a purity test alongside issues like border security and gun rights.
A combat veteran who served in the Navy SEALs, Crenshaw broke onto the national political scene in 2018 by winning a crowded primary for an open, safely Republican seat. He won key allies along the way but also faced attacks on his conservative credentials that rhyme with the attacks he’s facing now.
He also took a brief turn in the national spotlight that year for a different reason: Then-“Saturday Night Live” cast member Pete Davidson mocked his appearance and later apologized in a joint appearance with Crenshaw on the program. Crenshaw wears an eye patch because of an injury he suffered serving in Afghanistan.
Crenshaw has defended Trump’s immigration policies since before he took office, and he has taken a similarly aggressive stance about fighting Mexican drug cartels. He’s also repeatedly pushed legislation that would end Medicaid coverage for gender transition procedures for minors, another major point of emphasis of Trump’s.
Crenshaw’s recent television ads include video of Trump calling Crenshaw “great.” His campaign declined to comment on the race or Trump’s lack of endorsement, but in an interview with the Houston Chronicle’s editorial board, which ended up endorsing him, Crenshaw defended his conservative credentials and advocacy for the cause.
“If you think I’m not MAGA enough, then you’re not following me on social media, that’s the reality,” Crenshaw said. “If you don’t think I support Trump enough, then you’re not following me, you’re not listening to a thing I say. I’m out there defending his policies pretty hard and have defended them in extremely hard places in the past.”
“It’s really easy to tell people what they want to hear. It’s a little harder to go on ‘The View’ or the Bill Maher show and actually defend, with seriousness, what the right believes,” Crenshaw added. “If you want somebody who doesn’t know how to do that to represent you, by all means, get rid of me, get rid of one of the people who’s never lost an argument against a Democrat.”
A source familiar with Trump’s thinking told NBC News he is still likely to endorse Crenshaw, despite some misgivings. Indeed, while Crenshaw is aligning himself with the president, he hasn’t always remained pure on the key primary issue of loyalty to Trump.
In late 2020, Crenshaw joined more than 100 of his House GOP colleagues to sign on to a legal brief supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s challenge to Joe Biden’s victory in four key swing states. One month later, Crenshaw voted to certify the election results, even as the majority of House Republicans objected to the certification.
He repeatedly brushed aside claims the 2020 election was stolen, including during a 2021 interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” Crenshaw later said on his podcast that the attempt to undercut Biden’s victory “was a lie meant to rile people up.”
In 2023, when many Republicans were criticizing the Justice Department after Trump’s indictment on charges of mishandling classified materials, Crenshaw took more of a wait-and-see approach, calling the allegations “very problematic.” But he was critical of the charges Trump faced in New York City, framing them as politically motivated.
Crenshaw has also stood firm in his support for Ukraine in its war with Russia even as Trump and the Republican base have been less firm amid the shift away from the robust neoconservative foreign policy that was once the calling card of Republican politics in the early 21st century. He’s sparred with prominent conservatives over his positions on Ukraine, too, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson — whom Crenshaw was caught on a hot microphone criticizing last year.
“Rep. Crenshaw’s biggest break with the president is on foreign policy. It’s something the president has battled with his own party on, and this friction is representative of that divide inside the MAGA movement,” Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, told NBC News, framing Crenshaw’s foreign policy disagreements as a “crack” in his relationship with the conservative base.
“The foreign policy stuff definitely is the biggest crack, but the beginning of that crack was because Crenshaw didn’t significantly support Trump in the election fight,” he added.
