Daniel Crenshaw

Crenshaw graduated from Tufts University in 2006, then served as a Navy SEAL from 2006 to 2016.[1] He was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and lost his right eye in an IED explosion in Afghanistan.[2] In 2017, he earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University.[3]

Daniel Crenshaw did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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Campaign websiteCrenshaw's campaign website stated the following:WHY DAN CARESDan serves as the Representative for Texas’ 2nd Congressional district. As a 6th generation Texan and Houstonian, Dan has a deep love for his country and state. Dan and his wife Tara understand that there is no higher calling than service-before-self to the American people. While Dan no longer fights on the battlefield, he utilizes the integrity, leadership, vision, and tenacity he gained in the SEAL teams to serve honorably in Congress. Dan stands for common sense policies that ensure our nation’s prosperity and security, represent our Foundational values, and give Texans a reason to once again be proud of their leaders.SCHOOLS & EDUCATIONOur youth are our future leaders. I’m a vocal advocate for students in our community and frequently speak to schools and youth groups to encourage them to think big and emphasize the importance of hard work, and having a sense of purpose and vision.

It is crucial that we prepare the next generation for the workforce. We must promote vocational training as a sensible alternative to a college education and allow for Pell Grant flexibility to allow students the option to choose technical education programs.BORDER & NATIONAL SECURITYBORDER SECURITYBorder Security is national security and in just months President Trump has reversed the crisis Biden created in four years. It’s important we make permanent the effective policies President Trump has put in place.

I have led the fight to secure the border by offering bills that would increase hiring for Customs and Border Protection, remove the loopholes in the asylum process, and fixing the Flores Settlement, which has led to children being used as free passes into our country.

As Texans we are on the front lines of any future immigration crisis, and I will continue to fight to secure our border.FIGHTING THE CARTELSIllegal immigrants at border and the fentanyl on our streets has one cause: Mexican Drug Cartels. I am leading the fight in Congress to defeat the Mexican drug cartels.

I introduced a bill to authorize the use of military force against the cartels, because that is the only language they understand: violence. But I am also working to dismantle the cartels network from the fentanyl precursor suppliers in China, to the lawyers and bankers in Mexico, to the distributors here in the US.

I lead the Task Force to Combat Mexican Drug Cartels and will continue to take that work seriously to secure America and protect our communities.NATIONAL SECURITYAmerica First means exactly that: we are first. That means we protect our place in the world and do not let tyrants and dictators—whether in Beijing, Moscow, or Tehran—do as they wish.

When Afghanistan fell under Joe Biden, I offered legislation to ensure we do not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan after they spent almost two decades killing Americans. I offered legislation supporting the military and intelligence community that killed Qassem Soleimani. When Mexican president Lopez-Obrador threatened to intervene in our elections I stood up and fought with legislation.

I have and will continue to be tough on China, Russia, Iran, and any other country that challenges our way of life and our continued prosperity. Our future is on the line, and I will always put America and the American people first.RIGHTS & AMENDMENTSThe Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution represent the greatest ideas that humankind ever had. It was the moment that we wrote down our inalienable rights – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – and said that the role of government was simply to protect those rights, not create new ones or change them. The purpose of law is to implement justice, and protect our citizens from injustices committed against them. The purpose of law is NOT to engage in endless redistribution and regulation, with false promises that inevitably leads to the removal of individual freedoms. We must protect these time-tested principles of governance if we are to continue to be the most successful experiment in the history of mankind.

When it comes to defending our rights, I’m adamant about protecting our constitutional right to bear arms. I will always fight for Second Amendment rights. This right must never be infringed upon, but we must do a better job of enforcing current laws, especially background checks, so that guns stay out of the wrong hands. I will never allow the government to prevent law-abiding citizens from defending themselves.

I’ll also fight to protect our First Amendment. Our country is frighteningly close to violating our Constitution by allowing the left to shout down and shame anyone who disagrees with them. Social media platforms are shutting down conservative opinions. We need to encourage and inspire conservatives to stand up to this leftist bullying, and urge social media companies to develop clear and concise rules that are easy to understand.DISASTER & RECOVERY“Harvey was the most significant tropical cyclone rainfall event in United States history, both in scope and peak rainfall amounts.”

– National Hurricane Center, January 25th, 2018

For Texans in the 2nd District, flooding is frequently on our minds. As your Representative, I’ve been focused on two challenges: (1) providing relief to those affected by Hurricane Harvey, and (2) implementing the long-term solutions that will prevent future flooding.

A year ago, I said my role in Congress will be to work with local entities to exert pressure on the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to take action without delay. And we’ve done just that.Our ProgressWhile we still have a long way to go to fully recover from Harvey, we’ve made some real progress.

I’ve worked in a bipartisan fashion to get the Administration to release the much-needed $4 billion in federal disaster relief funding for mitigation projects. These funds are crucial for our community. The next step is for the GLO to develop an action plan that details how funding will be dispersed.

I’ve worked closely with local officials to ensure FEMA approved the Lake Houston Dam Gates project to help manage the flow of water in the San Jacinto watershed. This is an area that suffered some of the worst of Harvey.

Our coalition also convinced the Army Corps of Engineers to not classify Langham Creek as wetlands, so that Harris County Flood Control District could remove the silt to mitigate future flooding.

Another project we’ve had success with is the dredging of the San Jacinto River. It is crucial that it is restored to pre-Harvey conditions. Not only has the Army Corps of Engineers completed much of this, but the Corps extended the project to the confluence of the West Fork of the San Jacinto and Lake Houston. This is a great start, but we cannot forget the East Fork.

In addition to these projects, we’re closely watching the results of two crucial studies: the 216 study led by the Army Corp of Engineers and the San Jacinto Watershed Master Drainage Plan led by the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA), City of Houston, and Montgomery County.

The 216 study is still under way, but once it is completed we will have a strong understanding of the best ways to mitigate flooding in the Addicks and Cypress Creek.

The San Jacinto Watershed study is also still in the works. The goal of the study is to develop a plan to mitigate flooding for the San Jacinto and 27 of its major tributaries.

Additionally, we are working with the Harris County Flood Control District to ensure that the White Oak, Hunting, and Brays Bayou projects are fully reimbursed under the 211 (f) authority. When completed, these bayous will increase conveyance and mitigate flooding in the future.

I’m proud of the success we’ve seen so far, but we are not finished. Flooding continues to be my number one priority.HEALTHCAREI am focused on health care solutions that lower your costs at the pharmacy counter, increases transparency, and puts YOU in control of your health care decisions, not the federal government.

Democrats in Congress are proposing massive government takeovers of our health care system with proposals like Medicare for All and pharmaceutical price controls. These policies will force you into a one-size-fits-all, government-run health plan, and restrict your access to new innovative cures.

It’s clear our health care system is broken and too expensive, but what is the right answer to fix it? What we need is a free market, competitive, patient-centered health care system.JOBS & INNOVATIONFree-market principles have allowed our economy and job market to thrive. We must stand for pro-growth policies, because we cannot lift the poor out of poverty or raise middle class wages without a strong and growing economy. This is common sense economics, and we must show leadership to make it happen.

While pro-growth policies have stimulated this economy, we cannot ignore the necessary reforms to our entitlement programs. We must reform programs like Medicare and Social Security to save them. Our seniors deserve and earned these benefits, let’s ensure they’re around for future generations as well. But the answer isn’t taxing the next generation. The answer is common sense reforms. As our runaway debt continues to grow exponentially, any reforms must be fiscally responsible.ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTCongress should be working on policies to safeguard our environment AND our economy. That’s why I’m working on serious solutions to protect American jobs, our economic prosperity, and reduce emissions all at once.

I proposed legislation called the New Energy Frontier as part of the Republican environmental plan. This bill takes carbon capture – which we have pioneered here in Texas – and encourages further innovation so we can market this technology to the world to tackle GLOBAL emissions.

Unlike the Green New Deal, I’m focused on solutions and not just slogans. We do not need a socialist takeover of our entire economy in order to protect the environment. What we need is to encourage American innovators to develop a clean, all-of-the-above energy strategy that will allow us to continue emissions reductions and historic economic growth.GUN RIGHTSAmericans have the Constitutionally enshrined right to keep and bear arms. I will continue to fight back against leftists who want to take our rights to private gun ownership.

I have led the fight against Universal Background Checks and the ATF’s pistol brace rule. We won on both. To protect Americans from unconstitutional gun grabs, I introduced the ATF Accountability Act and the Preventing Unjust Red Flag Laws Act, prohibiting federal funds from being used to implement or enforce red flag laws.

I will continue fighting to protect our gun rights and will work to expand our rights to own semi-automatic weapons, concealed carry, and protect ourselves and our families.DEIDiversity Equity and Inclusion is the latest attack of post-modernism on our merit based society and it is antithetical to what has made us great.

I recognized this early on, and saw first hand the effect it was having on our military. That’s why I launched a whistleblower system for members of our Armed Forces who were subject to DEI initiatives. My report showed service members were forced to do privilege walks, discover their implicit bias, and unpack their privilege rucksack. I was appalled at what we found.

It’s not just our military that concerns me, but our universities. That’s why earlier this year I introduced a bill to end federal funding to any university that requires DEI statements as a condition of admission, employment or advancement.OUT OF CONTROL TRANS CULTURESomehow, transgenderism has become fashionable for coastal elites, which has spread into our communities.

Kids who think they are transgendered are accommodated and undergo gender reassignment—an irreversible procedure that many come to regret. That’s why I have led the fight to ban taxpayer funded general transition surgeries for minors. This was set to become law until the radical Senate Parliamentarian stripped it out of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.

As a father of a little girl, I will not be silenced in calling out the absurdity of biological men competing in women’s sports. It is insanity. I have been a leading voice in calling out this anti-woman issue that the left supports without hesitation.— Daniel Crenshaw's campaign website (November 18, 2025)Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

Daniel Crenshaw did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Daniel Crenshaw did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Daniel Crenshaw did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

In his November 2017 candidacy announcement, Crenshaw referred to his experience as a Navy SEAL: "I am running because our country needs leaders, not politicians. I fought and bled for ten years as a Navy SEAL in Iraq, Afghanistan, and South Korea, because I know the importance of service before self." While deployed in Afghanistan, Crenshaw was hit by an IED blast, causing him to lose his right eye.[4] Crenshaw's campaign website described his campaign as an effort to "continue to build a stronger, more secure America."[5] The website listed Crenshaw's top policy priorities as national security, the economy, and enforcing current firearm regulations without adding new laws.[6]

Crenshaw expressed a desire for a younger and more diverse Republican Party. He told the Weekly Standard, “You keep electing old, rich, white people to the seat—you can expect the Republican party to be gone in 50 years. We can’t keep doing that. We have to make conservatism cool and exciting again.” While he said he supported President Trump's policy agenda, he added, “we’ve got to think long-term too because I don’t think Trump speaks to a lot of young people.”[7]

Crenshaw's campaign website highlights the following issues:

National Security, Foreign Policy, and Defense:

America is the leader of the free world, and should not back down from this responsibility. We can never forget the atrocities of September 11th, and what occurs when you allow terrorists to operate freely in ungoverned areas. We must continue to take the fight to ISIS, not only in Syria and Iraq, but also in Afghanistan and Africa. The threat of radical Islam is real, and we must do a better job fighting on all fronts. I have been doing that for my entire adult life.

We also cannot forget the threat right across the border: the Mexican drug cartels. In many areas right across the border, the Mexican government has no control whatsoever. We need to do a better job working with the Mexican authorities to thwart this threat, and prevent weapons and drug trafficking across the border, in both directions. This threat has been largely forgotten by American politicians. That must change.

Russia continues to test our will and our NATO allies. Vladimir Putin operates as a dictator, unaccountable to his own people. This allows him complete freedom to disrupt American interests and attack our country. A strong stance must be taken against Russian active measures, while also cooperating in areas of mutual interest. Putin understands realpolitik and political warfare, and we must too.

North Korea cannot be tolerated as a belligerent rogue regime for much longer. We must stand behind the president as he builds a coalition against North Korea. However, we should be exceptionally wary of pre-emptive action against North Korea. The consequences could be catastrophic for both American service-members and the South Koreans. No one knows the costs of war better than I do.

We need to follow the president’s lead in rebuilding the U.S. military. I have seen first-hand the toll that 16 years of warfare has taken on our soldiers, sailors, and airmen. Our ships are barely operational and the ones that are deployed are colliding and running aground. We need policy changes, and strong leadership to set us back on the right course. We need better cyber defenses, and we need to do better at keeping talented people in the military. We need to invest in new technology to maintain our edge, as China and Russia quickly catch up.

Economy

Fundamental tax reform is long overdue. As the debate in Congress rages on and Democrats make false accusations about Republican ideas, we must stick to free-market principles. We must lower the corporate rate while also removing unnecessary special-interest deductions. We have to give corporations the incentives to repatriate their profits so we can grow our tax base, and encourage investments in THIS country. Corporations are not evil, they create jobs, employ Americans, and grow our economy. We must simplify the individual income tax, and remove deductions that distort our economy and reduce revenue unnecessarily. We must stand for pro-growth policies, because we cannot lift the poor out of poverty or raise middle class wages without a strong and growing economy. This is common sense economics, and we must show leadership to make it happen.

We must embrace free trade, and seek to give our businesses advantages by reducing regulatory burdens and lowering corporate tax rates. Small businesses are the primary driver of growth in this country and we need to ensure their success. It should be easy for entrepreneurs to start up their business and contribute to our strong economy. We have to protect the business owners that cannot afford to pay teams of lawyers to comply with tax law and regulations.

Social Security is on its way to complete collapse, and no one is talking about it. The CBO projects the Social Security OASDI trust fund to become insolvent by 2029. Without more revenue, benefits will be cut by approximately 29% in 2029. Until recently, the trust fund balance was growing steadily. But as the population continues aging and the ratio of workers to retirees decreases, the trust fund will eventually be depleted. It is vital to implement a solution that does not unexpectedly cut seniors’ benefits, but also does not place an unnecessary tax burden on today’s workers.

We must gradually transition to a mixed pay-as-you-go and investment-based system. Current workers will contribute an additional percentage of their taxable income into a personal retirement account (PRA) invested in a limited number of approved investment funds, which offer higher growth. These contributions should be small enough so as not to invite unnecessary risk, but large enough so that future retirement benefits can be maintained without greatly increasing the payroll tax.

Our national debt has doubled in the past ten years. We cannot keep borrowing from our children. We can’t just cut discretionary spending, we have to attack the hard stuff: mandatory spending to include Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. If our debt continues to increase, we face increased interest rates that will reduce investment and become a drag on economic growth. We will be less flexible if we need to inject a trillion tax dollars into the economy, as we did during the financial crisis of 2008. Our credit will eventually suffer, and foreign investors will be less likely to buy up our debt, causing the U.S. dollar to collapse. It’s time we started making common sense decisions about spending before it is too late.

2nd Amendment

I will always fight for 2nd Amendment rights. Democrats who don’t understand how guns even work continue to propose frivolous and ineffective gun-control legislation in Congress. We cannot allow the Leftists to set the terms of the gun rights debate in this country. Many states have borderline unconstitutional gun laws. We cannot allow this to happen in Texas. We must do a better job of enforcing current laws, especially background checks, so that guns stay out of the wrong hands. But I will never allow the government to prevent law-abiding citizens from defending themselves.

Abortion

As a country, we must place more value on LIFE. I believe that each life is created by God for a special, unique purpose, and that every life has inherent value. Being pro-life goes beyond politics. It is a foundational, moral position on the side of humanity.

We must stop late-term abortions in this country. I believe our country is on very shaky moral ground by allowing the abortion of a human being with ten fingers, ten toes, and heartbeat. This is not an attack on women, it is a question of our humanity. Not even far-left European countries like France allow abortions past 12 weeks, and yet we do?

Immigration

Border security, border security, border security. Border security must come first, before we have any other conversation. Enough is enough, let’s enforce our laws. We should not only build the wall but also ramp up tech-savvy ways to secure our border, like drones and sensors. My background in national security makes me uniquely qualified to assess different proposals and find the right solution.

Furthermore, border security leads to better legal immigration laws. When we finally secure the border – a proposal that used to be bipartisan – we can then talk about next steps for immigration reform. America is still the shining city on the hill and we need good, legal immigrants with skills, a hard work ethic, and conservative values to come into this country. But they should do it legally, and we should welcome them. We should move to a merit based immigration system, so that we get the best of the best in our country.

Sanctuary cities are an affront to our law enforcement and national security. When illegal immigrants commit crimes, we should enforce both criminal law AND immigration law. Encouraging law enforcement agencies to cooperate with one another is common sense, and good policy.

Religious Liberty

I will never let the government force a private citizen or business to actively participate in an activity that directly violates their religious beliefs. Period. We are simply protecting the freedom of individuals to abstain from something that violates their religious beliefs. This is common sense.

The original Americans who came over from Europe and founded this country came here for religious and economic liberty. They were people of conscience who wanted to be able to worship freely, build their communities, work hard, and live their lives free of unwarranted government intrusion into their lives. Religious liberty and pluralism have always been bedrock principles of the American republic, and I will fight every day in Congress to preserve this legacy.

Education

Our education system is not preparing our students for the future or for the current work force. We have to encourage competition and dynamism in our schools. I believe in school choice policies, and putting the student first. We should allow families to choose the school that works best for their student: whether it be traditional public schools, public charter schools, virtual schools, private schools, or home schooling. School choice is about freedom, competition, and improving education for all children.

We also need to encourage policies that professionalize our teacher workforce. Study after study shows that the primary driver of good educational outcomes is good teachers. Not new iPads, or fancy stadiums, but good teachers. We need to focus on the basics. Our teachers are true patriots, and our hard-earned tax dollars should go towards improving teacher quality and rewarding good teachers, not endless federal bureaucracy in the Department of Education.

College is becoming too expensive for working class families, and not giving students the skills they need to succeed. Government subsidies have caused education costs to sky rocket, and it is only getting more expensive. A 4-year degree is the right choice for a lot of people, but it should not be the only choice. We need to encourage vocational training and apprenticeship programs that give workers the skills that industries actually need.

There are an estimated 5-7 million job openings in medium-skilled sectors that are not being filled, because we do not have the workers with the right skills. They don’t need English majors, they need technicians, data analysts, and manufacturing specialists. These skills are obtained through on-the-job training, apprenticeships, and trade schools. We need to start those paths in high school, and make it easier for laid off workers to obtain those skills when looking for new work.

Federalism & the 10th Amendment

I am a strong advocate for the idea of federalism, and the wisdom of the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Political power should be taken out of Washington and sent back to state capitals and local communities. I believe that policy is best made at the local level, where voters can reach out and touch their representatives. This is common sense policy, because different regions and communities face different challenges and preferences.

One-size-fits-all policies are counter to our Founding Fathers’ vision of the Republic, and we need to adhere to the greatest legal document in the world: the U.S. Constitution. Federal overreach causes inefficient and confusing policy, and it allows unelected bureaucrats to create de facto laws and regulations. As your congressman, I will fight to restore federalism and the 10th amendment.

Free Speech

Our country is frighteningly close to violating our Constitution by allowing the left to shout down and shame anyone who disagrees with them. This is happening regularly on college campuses all over the country. From Berkeley to Boston, leftist agitators are trying to “enforce” political correctness by shutting down speeches that they disagree with. Even some liberal commentators are finding this problematic and have called them out for their anti-American ways. College should be a place for the free and open exchange of ideas, not a place where groupthink and political correctness are enforced, and anti-conservative thugs reign supreme.

We need to encourage and inspire young conservatives to stand up to this leftist bullying. I do not back down from fights, and I am not about to back down from this one. The future of our country is at stake.

Healthcare

We need a free market, patient-centered health care system. Unfortunately, ObamaCare was a massive government takeover of the health care system, and it has been an unmitigated disaster. Congress needs to immediately repeal this horrible law, and the president needs to sign it. ObamaCare has caused health care costs to go up, has kicked millions of Americans off of their health insurance plans, and has increased taxes, all of which have been detrimental to the health care system.

We need to replace it with a health care system that puts patients first, encourages competition, allows consumers to buy health insurance across state lines, and expands health savings accounts.

I understand all too well the experience of being a patient in socialized medicine, both in the military and the VA. When no one is held accountable, and there’s no competition, quality of care suffers and prices skyrocket. We must give states the flexibility to experiment with solutions that deliver the cheapest and highest quality care to the most people. As Americans, we should all agree on this common-sense goal.

We have to look at the insurance market differently. When we force insurance to cover routine visits or treatments, the costs of those treatments naturally skyrocket and premiums follow suit. The employer-based health insurance deduction lowers wages and hides the actual costs of healthcare. As a result, health care is overused without any measurable improvement in health outcomes.

Medicaid continues to grow without actually improving Americans’ health. When Medicaid enrollees increase drastically, as they did under Obamacare, we reduce the quality of care for our poorest and neediest patients. We need to block grant Medicaid payments to states so they can experiment effectively. I have faith that Texas will use that money effectively and efficiently, and ensure that the neediest Texans get the health care they need. The federal government may mean well, but it isn’t doing well.

It is time for Congress to take on out-of-control drug prices, and beat back the pharmaceutical lobby. We must change the incentives for hospitals, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies so that free market forces can effectively reduce drug prices. We need more transparency in research and development costs, and we need the FDA to assess the effectiveness of new drugs compared to existing drugs, so that consumers are not tricked into buying more expensive, but less effective medicine. We need to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and establish common formularies, much like the VA does. This encourages free market forces to drive down costs.

One of the most promising areas of medical innovation is the expansion of telemedicine, where medical professionals treat patients across great distances using electronic communications. A significant barrier to telemedicine is the requirement that physicians obtain licenses from each state in which their current or potential patients are, or may