Steve Toth
Steve Toth, a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives who defeated incumbent Dan Crenshaw in the 2026 primary, faces Democrat Shaun Finnie, an investment banker, for Texas's 2nd congressional district.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Steve Toth.
- Born
- November 29, 1960
- Birthplace
- New York
- Education
- Pittsford Mendon High School
Rochester Bible College
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Steve Toth was born on November 29, 1960, and was raised in New York, where he attended Pittsford Mendon High School in suburban Rochester. He also attended Rochester Bible College.
Career
Steve Toth owns Acclaim Pools and My Pool Xpert in The Woodlands and is a former pastor at Family Life Ministries of the Fellowship of The Woodlands, a congregation now known as The Woodlands Church.
He entered the Texas House of Representatives in 2012 by unseating five-term incumbent Rob Eissler in the District 15 Republican primary, 56.5% to 43.5%, and then defeated Libertarian Sterling Russell 87% to 13%.
In 2014 he ran in the special election for the state Senate seat left by Tommy Williams and lost the August 5 runoff to Brandon Creighton, 67% to 33%.
Toth returned to the District 15 seat in 2018, winning the Republican primary over Mary "Jackie" Waters 78% to 21% and the general election over Democrat Lorena Perez McGill 67% to 33%, and he has been re-elected in each election since.
In January 2019 Speaker Dennis Bonnen appointed him to the House Appropriations Committee.
His legislation that year included the Jones Forest Preservation Act, which protects the William Goodrich Jones State Forest from development, and the JD Lambright Local Government Ethics Reform Act, which Governor Greg Abbott signed into law on June 14, 2019.
2026 race
Texas's 2nd congressional district covers most of the northern and northeastern suburbs of Houston, including The Woodlands, Spring, Kingwood, New Caney, Humble and Atascocita, along with the Willowbrook area of Houston.
Steve Toth challenged the Republican incumbent, Dan Crenshaw, in the March 2026 primary and won with 55.8% of the vote to Crenshaw's 40.7%, a result that removes Crenshaw from the general election ballot.
His Democratic opponent is Shaun Finnie, an investment banker who was unopposed in the Democratic primary. The general election is on November 3, 2026.