February 25, 2026
Dan Crenshaw took to social media to share a Current Revolt article entitled “Colony Ridge’s Financial Ties to Pro-Toth PAC Raises Questions”. The article didn’t say what questions it raised, but Dan Crenshaw was quick to jump on the opportunity to spread guilt by association. Notably, the promissory note shared in the article precedes all the media coverage about Colony Ridge.
Dan Crenshaw’s statement is a classic example of political framing. He is connecting three separate points: a bank loan, a political donation, and a policy issue to create a narrative of “cause and effect. Crenshaw suggests Marling is “bankrolling” Toth because Crenshaw attacked Colony Ridge. This is complete nonsense. Marling is a prolific Republican donor and has contributed to local Republican campaigns as well as to campaigns for Senator Ted Cruz and President Donald Trump. Is Crenshaw suggesting that the President and Senator Ted Cruz are also not tough on the border and oppose efforts to investigate Colony Ridge? Dan is endorsed by Jim Jordan who also received funding from Robert Marling. It should be noted that Steve Toth supported locating a police station in Colony Ridge.
While the Colony Ridge development has been a lightning rod for border security concerns, the actual lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice and the Texas Attorney General were civil, not criminal. They focused on predatory lending and deceptive marketing by Colony Ridge and not the bank or banker that loaned Colony Ridge money. There have been no criminal charges or proven legal links between the development and cartels. Using the “cartel” label against a bank CEO (or the politician he supports) is an evidentiary leap used for campaign impact. A bank providing a loan to a major local developer is a routine financial transaction. To insinuate that a bank CEO “supports cartels” because the bank gave a loan to a developer is a stretch that ignores how commercial banking works. Banks lend to thousands of entities; they are not typically held politically responsible for every action of every borrower.
This isn’t the first time Dan Crenshaw utilized this kind of political framing: he has also maligned the character of local conservative talk radio show host Michael Berry. When Michael Berry endorsed Steve Toth for Congress, Dan Crenshaw posted a screenshot of an old text message where Berry questioned why he was not advertising with his company, but had large media buys elsewhere. Dan Crenshaw framed Berry’s disaffection from the Crenshaw camp as financially driven. The reality is, by 2021, Berry had numerous reasons to be disenchanted with the congressman.
Dan Crenshaw has used the same framing to malign his political opponent and supporters by creating fear about the future flooding of Kingwood. Signs, mailers, and ads for Dan Crenshaw imply that Steve Toth will flood Kingwood and that you must vote for Dan Crenshaw to prevent flooding. MMB has covered Toth’s flood mitigation record in the Texas Legislature in a previous post. The idea that Dan Crenshaw will hold back the floodwaters is the height of political fantasy.
Dan Crenshaw and his paid staff have repeatedly maligned upstanding members of his district who cannot bring themselves to vote for him due to his D conservative rating, his temperament, and his policy decisions that have not aligned with conservative voters. He even shared a local campaign event hosted by three local women for Steve Toth, implying they may be prostitutes working for Steve Toth. This kind of mentality doesn’t belong in DC. The power has gone to his head. Dan Crenshaw genuinely believes he is above critique and that anyone who doesn’t support him should be portrayed as a bad actor. We should reject this kind of political rhetoric. If the fearmongering campaign lies weren’t bad enough, this is how a tyrant acts, not a statesman. Dan Crenshaw’s campaign slogan should be “Anyone who doesn’t support me is the devil.”