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Billionaire’s Spending Blitz Ousts Dan Crenshaw in Texas GOP Primary

Robert Marling’s $675,000 to a pro-Toth super PAC financed districtwide ads featuring Sen. Ted Cruz, a push allies call decisive.

Overview

  • State Rep. Steve Toth defeated Crenshaw 55% to 40%, making Crenshaw the first House incumbent to fall in 2026.
  • Marling supplied roughly $675,000—about two-thirds of the super PAC’s spending—bankrolling a flood of mailers and TV spots across the district.
  • His giving landed in waves, including $25,000 in January, $200,000 on Feb. 10, and a final $200,000 in the race’s closing week.
  • Marling pressed contacts around President Trump, including Speaker Mike Johnson, to withhold an endorsement of Crenshaw, and Trump stayed neutral.
  • After Crenshaw accused Marling of funding “slanderous” mailers and tied his bank to a Colony Ridge loan, Marling launched an X account to attack him, while a person close to Marling said he wasn’t involved with the bank at the time.