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Dan Crenshaw clapped back at Pete Davidson after winning his race for Texas' 2nd Congressional District. Davidson mocked the Navy SEAL train on "Saturday Night Live."
USA TODAY
FILE – In this Tuesday, May 22, 2018, Republican Congressional Candidate Dan Crenshaw, Tara, as he comes on stage at the Cadillac Bar Houston. Crenshaw has chided "Saturday Night Live" comic Pete Davidson for poking fun of the eyepatch he wears because he was badly wounded during his third tour in Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL. (Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle via AP, File) ORG XMIT: TXHOU702(Photo: Mark Mulligan, AP)
Last week, Dan Crenshaw was a well-known Congressional candidate from Houston and a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Today, the Navy SEAL with a distinctive eye patch is being lauded as a rising Republican star and has "unified" to keep track of the coming years.
Crenshaw, 34, was elected to the U.S. House on Tuesday, beating out Democrat Todd Litton in the vacant Houston-area district. His victory cam three days after he was mocked on "Saturday Night Live." In the episode, comic Pete Davidson said Crenshaw's eye patch made him look like a "hit man in a porn movie."
Crenshaw lost his right eye while serving in Afghanistan six years ago. The Joke Diluted and Heated Criticism of the Veteran.
But his victory Tuesday night, his unique backstory and his message of unification has suddenly come to the national spotlight. TV interviews on CNN and Fox News, followed by GOP activists across the country.
"A for-real rock star," Jacob Monty, a Houston attorney and GOP and Latino activist, said of the congressman-elect. "He totally gets the importance of using rhetoric and words that appeal to Latinos.The guy, in my estimation, is Latino. "
Originally from Houston, Crenshaw lived in Ecuador and Colombia as a youth, while his father worked in the Texas oil and gas industry. He is fluent in Spanish. He later became a Navy SEAL and served several deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2012, Crenshaw was on a mission in Afghanistan's Helmand province when it was destroyed in the past. He is a medically retired soldier in 2016, after 10 years serving on SEAL teams and earning two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart and the Navy Commendation Medal with Valor.
He's supported some of Trump's stances on immigration, such as building a border wall, but also criticized Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. On his Facebook page, Crenshaw slammed then-candidate Trump's "insane rhetoric" towards Muslims and "hateful" speech. Opponents used the 2015 post-attack Crenshaw during the Republican primary in May, labeling him an "anti-Trump liberal."
Crenshaw still won the primary, propelling him to Tuesday's matchup.
In a July essay he wrote for National Review, Crenshaw said it was time for a "reset in relations" with Mexico and urged leaders to tone down the rhetoric.
"Immigration reform and border security here in the US are necessary and urgent parts of the solution, but it is recognizing that Mexico is a partner on this issue, not an enemy," he wrote.
Monty said he was impressed by Crenshaw when the candidate – in the midst of a heated congressional race – took the time to speak to a Texas Latino Republicans in September. He started out in Latin America – fluent Spanish.
Even though it shares with Trump, Crenshaw's cultural sensibility might be going to Monty said.
"If the president wants to learn something, he should follow the Crenshaw method, and you'll win the popular vote and the Electoral College," he said.
At his victory speech Tuesday night at Houston's Cadillac Bar, Crenshaw acknowledged the "SNL" jab at him and insisted he was not offended. "I'm from the SEAL teams, we do not really get offended," he said.
In an interview with Houston's KRIV-TV after the speech, Crenshaw said he was encouraged by how voters in the Houston-area – both Republican and Democrats – were respectful of him and one another.
"There's still a love of each other and a love of your neighbor," he said. "That's the kind of representation we need to bring to Washington."
Follow Rick Jervis on Twitter: @MrRJervis.
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