After tonight's filing deadline passed for the 2014 elections in Texas, the
Texas Tribune and other news outlets are reporting that Republican Representative Steve Stockman (TX-36) is primarying U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), who was already facing at least 5 primary opponents in his re-election bid:
U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, has filed to run against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the March GOP primary [...], according to a spokesman with the Republican Party of Texas.
LOL We need a juicier version of this most excellent news:
Firebrand Texas Republican Rep. Steve Stockman on Monday mounted a surprise primary challenge to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), setting the stage for a potentially explosive battle between a tea party darling and an incumbent firmly backed by the party establishment.
Stockman, a far-right conservative who has called for the president’s impeachment, filed for the seat minutes before the 6 p.m. local deadline, confirmed Spencer Yeldell, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Texas. His entry into the race, which will culminate in a March 4 primary, could force Cornyn to tack farther right as he tries to win over a corner of the party that was already relatively skeptical of him.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/...
And there's more good news: To run against Cornyn, Stockman had to withdraw from the race for re-election to his deep red congressional district in Southeast Texas.
If you're familiar with Texas politics, you might be wondering why Stockman would give up almost certain re-election to primary Cornyn. The answer is ... wait for it ... Obamacare!
Stockman told WND [...] he is running against his fellow Republican because, “We are extremely disappointed in the way he treated his fellow congressmen and broke the 11th commandment and undermined (Sen.) Ted Cruz’s fight to stop Obamacare.”
The Texan added, “And now, it looks like Cruz was right and Cornyn was wrong. He (Cornyn) sided with the president, essentially, in making sure Obamacare became law while Cruz did everything possible to stop it.”
It wasn’t just what Cornyn did, but how he did it, that rankled Stockman.
“If you disagree with someone, that’s fine, but I really believe you should do it privately, not so publicly,” he said. “He made a big show of removing his name from a letter supporting Cruz.”
Read more at http://mobile.wnd.com/...
Got that? Stockman is criticizing Cornyn for making a disagreement public. And then he basically calls Cornyn a
backstabber:
“I don’t know that I can beat him, but I am sure going to try,” he said [to WND], adding that he thinks he has a shot because, “In Texas, conservative policies win over stabbing fellow Republicans in the back.”
Delicious.
Tue Dec 10, 2013 at 9:22 AM PT: See this excellent new diary: The remarkable record of Steve Stockman.
Wed Dec 11, 2013 at 6:20 AM PT: LOL Check out Stockman's fundraising letter: I'm running for Senate against liberal John Cornyn (h/t David Nir). Here's how it starts:
Dear patriot,
You are in a foxhole fighting to save our constitutional Republic…
…and the last thing you need is a Republican bayonet in your back.