Ĭrenshaw won the runoff to advance to the November general election. Gaining the endorsement of Senator Tom Cotton, Crenshaw received national attention, appearing in print and television, including on Laura Ingraham's show on Fox Business. The ads also compared Crenshaw's policy proposals to those of President Barack Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders. A super PAC funded by Roberts' brother-in-law, Mark Lanier, focused on Crenshaw's 2015 criticisms of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, despite Roberts having also been critical of Trump in the past. The lead-up to the runoff election was contentious. Ĭrenshaw and Kevin Roberts advanced from the nine-candidate first round of the Republican primary election to face each other in a runoff election Crenshaw received 155 votes more than Kathaleen Wall, a candidate backed by Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Greg Abbott. In a February 2018 interview, he said that border security and immigration reform would be two of his campaign issues. Crenshaw credited national security analyst John Noonan for encouraging him to run for Congress. He announced his candidacy in November 2017. In 2018, Crenshaw ran for the United States House of Representatives in Texas's 2nd congressional district, which includes northern and western Houston, including Kingwood, Humble, Atascocita, Spring, and the Rice University area, to succeed the retiring Ted Poe. See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 2
He said, "I don’t have a 'good eye,' but half a good eye." U.S House of Representatives Elections 2018 As he recovered, he expected to be virtually blind for about a month.
In 2021, the retina in his left eye began to detach, so he underwent emergency surgery in April. He remained in the Navy for four years after the injury, and served his fourth and fifth tours of duty in Bahrain and South Korea. The blast destroyed his eye, and he required surgery to save the vision in his left eye. Ĭrenshaw lost his right eye in 2012 during his third deployment when he was hit by an IED explosion in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. He medically retired from military service in 2016 with the rank of lieutenant commander. Īs a Navy SEAL, Crenshaw was awarded two Bronze Star Medals, one with "V" device, the Purple Heart, and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with valor. He was based out of Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in Coronado, California. His first deployment was to Fallujah, Iraq, where he joined SEAL Team Three. Crenshaw served in the Navy SEALs for ten years and five tours of duty, reaching the rank of lieutenant commander. He completed SEAL qualification training in June 2008 and received the 1130 designator as a Naval Special Warfare Officer, entitled to wear the Special Warfare Insignia. After six months of training, Crenshaw graduated with BUD/S class 264. He received orders to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado.
While at Tufts, Crenshaw joined the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps and received an officer's commission in the U.S. He worked as a military legislative assistant for U.S.
Kennedy School of Government, receiving a Master of Public Administration in 2017. After a decade of military service, he studied public administration at Harvard University's John F. Īfter high school, Crenshaw returned to the United States and attended Tufts University, graduating in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and a minor in physics. In 2002, he graduated from Colegio Nueva Granada in Bogotá, Colombia. His father, Jim Crenshaw, is a petroleum engineer who worked abroad, and Crenshaw spent time growing up in Ecuador and Colombia, developing proficiency in Spanish. His mother died of cancer when he was ten years old. Born to American parents in Aberdeen, United Kingdom, Crenshaw grew up in Katy, Texas.