There’s a special kind of delusion that afflicts politicians who’ve just been thrown out by their own voters. It’s the unshakable belief that the voters must have been confused — that if only they’d known the real candidate, they never would have pulled the lever for someone else.
Dan Crenshaw has that disease in its terminal stage.
The outgoing Texas congressman, freshly humiliated by a landslide primary loss to State Rep. Steve Toth, sat down with CBS’s Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday to explain what happened. His diagnosis? “Misinformation.”
‘I’m Unique’
That’s how Crenshaw opened his explanation — by declaring himself special. Not in the way that earns you votes, mind you, but in the way that apparently makes you uniquely victimized by online meanies.
He told Brennan he’d been the target of “online smears and conspiracies” for years and that his election was decided by voters who believed things about him that weren’t true. He lamented that debunking those claims hadn’t worked, and he painted himself as a noble victim of the information age.
What he didn’t do — not once — was consider the possibility that his voters simply didn’t like his record.
The Record Speaks for Itself
Dan Crenshaw was the only one of 19 incumbent House Republicans with a Trump endorsement to lose his primary. Let that number sink in. Eighteen others survived. Crenshaw didn’t. Was there a unique “misinformation” campaign against all 19, and only Crenshaw’s district fell for it? Or is the simpler explanation the correct one — that Crenshaw’s voting record and public conduct finally caught up with him?
Crenshaw consistently positioned himself as a “reasonable” Republican — the kind the mainstream media loves to book because he’ll criticize his own side. He earned Ted Cruz’s endorsement… of his opponent. That’s not misinformation. That’s a senior senator from your own state telling your voters that you’re the problem.
Toth ran to Crenshaw’s right on every issue that matters to Republican primary voters — border security, foreign policy restraint, and loyalty to the America First agenda. Polling and betting markets showed the race tightening for months before Toth pulled away decisively. Crenshaw didn’t lose because of lies. He lost because the truth finally had enough distribution.
The Tucker Problem
Then there’s the Tucker Carlson situation — which Crenshaw seems to think helps his case but actually buries it. In February 2025, Crenshaw was caught on video saying he would “kill” Carlson if he ever met him. His exact words were reportedly: “No, seriously, I’ll kill him. He’s the worst person I’ve ever met.”
This is a sitting congressman fantasizing about violence against a media figure because that media figure criticized him. And Crenshaw wants us to believe that the problem is misinformation?
Carlson later sat down with Toth for an extended interview where both men made the case that Crenshaw had abandoned the America First movement. That interview went viral. Not because it was misinformation — but because it resonated with voters who had watched Crenshaw drift further and further from the base with every term in office.
The Real Lesson
Crenshaw closed his CBS appearance with a lecture aimed at Republican voters: “Are you going to believe everything you see on the internet?” It’s the kind of condescending line that perfectly encapsulates why he lost. He doesn’t think his voters made an informed decision — he thinks they were duped.
Here’s the actual lesson of the Crenshaw defeat: Republican voters are paying attention. They’re watching the votes, tracking the rhetoric, and comparing what their representatives say on the campaign trail with what they do in Washington. And when the gap gets too wide, they fire you.
Dan Crenshaw didn’t lose because of misinformation. He lost because voters had too much information — about him. And rather than reckon with that reality, he’s running to the same mainstream media outlets that loved him precisely because he wasn’t a reliable conservative.
Enjoy retirement, Congressman. You earned it.
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