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Ava Zolari
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Ava Zolari (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 2nd Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on March 3, 2026.[source]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the March 3, 2026, Republican primary as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Incumbent Daniel Crenshaw (R), Steve Toth (R), and four other candidates are running in the Republican primary for Texas' 2nd Congressional District on March 3, 2026. The filing deadline is December 8, 2025. As of November 2025, Crenshaw and Toth led in fundraising and local media attention.[1]
According to the Houston Chronicle's Jeremy Wallace, Crenshaw, who media outlets described as a rising star in the GOP after he was first elected, "has the power of incumbency and is one of the most recognizable members of Congress."[2] Toth is a state representative who the Texas Tribune's Gabby Birenbaum described as "aligned with the rightmost faction of the Texas Legislature...by far the best-known primary opponent Crenshaw has faced in his career."[1] Crenshaw defeated Jameson Ellis (R) 75%–17% and 60%–40% in the 2022 and 2024 primaries.
Crenshaw was elected to the House in 2018 and is a U.S. Navy veteran. He is running on his record which he says includes bringing flood mitigation funding to the district and "leading the fight in Congress to defeat the Mexican drug cartels". Crenshaw says he 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."[3]
Toth was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2012. He ran unsuccessfully for state Senate in 2014 and U.S. House in 2016 before being re-elected to the state House in 2018. He is running on his record as a state legislator, which he says includes "banning both Critical Race Theory and Social Transitioning of Children in Texas schools" and securing "billions in funding for border security initiatives as a member of our Appropriations Committee." He is also a pastor and small business owner.[4] As of November 2025, Toth's campaign website listed "Securing Our Southern Border," "Fighting Liberal Indoctrination," "Our National Security," among his top priorities.
As of November 2025, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales, and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball each rated the general election Solid/Safe Republican.
Texas conducted redistricting between the 2024 and 2026 elections. As a result, district lines in this state changed. According to an Inside Elections analysis, under the old map, Donald Trump (R) would have won the district by 24 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election. Under the new map, Trump would have won the district by 23 percentage points.
Also running in the primary are Martin Etwop (R), T.C. Manning (R), Nicholas Plumb (R), and Ava Zolari (R).
If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff on May 26.
Elections
2026
See also: Texas' 2nd Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 2
Shaun Finnie and Tyrone Price are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 2 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Shaun Finnie | ||
| Tyrone Price | ||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 2
The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 2 on March 3, 2026.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jon Bonck (R)
- Nick Tran (R)
- Jameson Ellis (R)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Election campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Crenshaw | Republican Party | $1,244,956 | $1,045,617 | $668,647 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Martin Etwop | Republican Party | $7,756 | $5,203 | $162 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| T.C. Manning | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Nicholas Plumb | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Steve Toth | Republican Party | $303,459 | $47,978 | $255,481 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Ava Zolari | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[5][6][7]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
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Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Texas Tribune, "State Rep. Steve Toth to challenge Congressman Dan Crenshaw in Republican primary," July 15, 2025
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Is Dan Crenshaw's reelection bid in jeopardy? His GOP primary challenger Steve Toth thinks so," October 24, 2025
- ↑ Daniel Crenshaw campaign website, "Issues," accessed November 11, 2025
- ↑ Steve Toth campaign website, "Meet Steve Toth," accessed November 24, 2025
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021