Texas Republicans have spent years watching their own delegation stab them in the back – on guns, on Ukraine, on the border – while collecting a paycheck and calling themselves conservatives.
Tuesday is the day the reckoning begins.
Ted Cruz just threw himself into the middle of three explosive Texas primaries, and what happens on March 3rd will tell you everything about whether the America First movement is real – or just a hashtag.
Ted Cruz Endorses Dan Crenshaw Primary Challenger Steve Toth in Texas District 2
Dan Crenshaw spent years building a brand as a tough-guy Navy SEAL while quietly voting for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, funneling billions to Ukraine, and lecturing actual conservatives about their foreign policy views.
This is the same Dan Crenshaw who told a British journalist he would "f***ing kill" Tucker Carlson – and then doubled down saying he wasn't joking – is now fighting for his political life in a Houston-area primary.
Tucker Carlson called him "Eyepatch McCain" and wasn't wrong.
Cruz just picked a side – and it's not Crenshaw's.
And with the March 3 ballot just hours away, Ted Cruz stepped in front of the cameras for the Alamo Freedom Fighters PAC and told Texas conservatives exactly what kind of Republican they deserve.
Cruz is backing state Rep. Steve Toth to take Crenshaw's seat, cutting a campaign ad for the Alamo Freedom Fighters PAC with a message that doesn't need a decoder ring: "You deserve an unwavering fighter, a Republican who walks the walk."
The irony is almost too much: Cruz and Crenshaw agree on plenty of policy, both holding hawkish foreign policy views that have put them at odds with the party's America First wing at various points.
Cruz made a choice anyway.
He's betting that Texas conservatives are done rewarding people who fight harder against Tucker Carlson than against the radical left – and that feud got personal fast, with Crenshaw calling Carlson a "cowardly, know-nothing elitist who is full of shit."
Toth is a Conroe Republican and state legislator who has been one of the most conservative members of the Texas House for years – the guy who protested COVID lockdowns by getting a haircut and authored the law banning critical race theory in Texas schools.
Crenshaw's campaign calls Toth a lightweight. Toth's supporters point out that Crenshaw earned a 62% score from Heritage Action – a number that would embarrass a lot of Democrats.
Tony Gonzales Scandal Gives Brandon Herrera Opening in Texas Primary
Down in Texas's sprawling 23rd District – 800 miles of border country stretching from San Antonio to El Paso – Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales is drowning.
This is a man who already handed conservatives reasons to come after him: he voted for red flag gun laws and same-sex marriage legislation, earning a censure from the Texas Republican Party in 2023.
Then came the texts.
Just after midnight on May 9, 2024, Gonzales sent his female staffer Regina Santos-Aviles a message: "send me a sexy pic." She replied: "This is too far, Tony."
Santos-Aviles died after setting herself on fire outside her Uvalde home in September 2025.
Five Republican colleagues – including Lauren Boebert, Nancy Mace, and Thomas Massie – have called for Gonzales to resign or drop out.
His opponent Brandon Herrera, the pro-gun YouTube phenomenon known as "the AK Guy," lost a 2024 runoff to Gonzales by roughly 400 votes.
https://x.com/GrageDustin/status/2027427293858050517“>https://x.com/GrageDustin/status/2027427293858050517
The House Freedom Caucus has now endorsed Herrera.
West Texas families go to church on Sundays. They expect their congressman to behave with basic decency – and the polls reflect what they think of Gonzales right now.
Ken Paxton Leads John Cornyn in Texas Senate Primary as Gun Control Record Haunts Incumbent
John Cornyn co-authored the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – what most conservatives correctly identified as the most significant federal gun grab in decades.
Trump posted on Truth Social calling him a "hopeless" RINO for it.
Ken Paxton, who survived a politically motivated impeachment attempt in 2023, is leading Cornyn heading into Tuesday's primary – averaging 37.3% to Cornyn's 35% in the RealClearPolitics average.
Cornyn, burning through tens of millions in establishment cash, has responded by attacking Paxton's personal life in television ads.
That tells you everything about where the policy argument stands.
Paxton made the stakes plain: Cornyn is "the single worst person in Texas" to motivate America First voters in November.
The establishment's answer? Cornyn is warning that nominating Paxton will cause a Republican "massacre" in the fall.
Texas conservatives have heard that argument before – it's the same tune Washington plays every time the base tries to hold someone accountable.
What the Texas March 3 Primary Results Mean for America First Republicans
Three races. Three choices between America First and the Republican establishment.
In each one, the incumbent is arguing that conservatives should back off – that holding their own delegation accountable is too dangerous, too likely to cause problems down the road.
That's exactly what they said when Trump ran in 2016.
If Paxton, Herrera, and Toth win on Tuesday, the message to every gun-grabbing, Ukraine-funding, staffer-texting RINO in Washington is simple: Texas is done with you.
Sources:
- Isaac Schorr, "Ted Cruz Campaigns Against Dan Crenshaw in Texas GOP Fight," Mediaite, February 26, 2026.
- Patrick Svitek, "Dan Crenshaw vs. Steve Toth Primary Is a Fight Over Who's the Real RINO," Houston Public Media, February 18, 2026.
- "How Dan Crenshaw's Feuds With Ted Cruz and MAGA Threaten His Political Future," CNN, February 26, 2026.
- "Texts Show Rep. Tony Gonzales Sent Sexually Explicit Messages to Staffer," NBC News, February 23, 2026.
- "Brandon Herrera Says GOP Should Get Gonzales to Exit Texas Race," Washington Examiner, February 25, 2026.
- "Trump's Takeover of the GOP Upends Texas Senate Race and Threatens John Cornyn's Seat," NBC News, February 27, 2026.
- "John Cornyn Warns of a GOP 'Massacre' in Texas if Ken Paxton Beats Him," NBC News, February 18, 2026.
