WASHINGTON â€" In a surprise move, conservative Representative Steve Stockman of Texas filed just before the Monday evening deadline to challenge two-term
incumbent Senator John Cornyn in next year’s Texas Republican primary.
Mr. Stockman’s challenge of Mr. Cornyn, the second-ranking Senate Republican, offers the potential for yet another ideological showdown in the 2014 Republican Senate primaries.
But to be viable, Mr. Stockman will have to move swiftly. He has just $32,000 in his House campaign account and the Texas primary is on March 4th. Mr. Cornyn, who had been hoping to avoid a primary from the right, has just under $7 million stocked for his re-election.
The congressman, who returned to the House this year after serving a single term in the 1990s, will also need significant help from outside conservative groups. But in the hours after he suddenly became a Senate candidate, it was not clear if Mr. Stockman would enjoy such support. Two groups that often back primaries against incumbent senators, the Senate Conservatives Fund and Madison Project, both praised the general concept of a conservative challenge against Mr. Cornyn but stopped short of endorsing Mr. Stockman. A spokesman for the well-endowed Club for Growth did not immediately comment on the unexpected match-up.
Further, it appears that Mr. Stockman will not have the support of Mr. Cornyn’s colleague, Senator Ted Cruz, who is popular among the sort of grassroots conservatives in the state the congressman would need to upset Mr. Cornyn.
“As the Senator has said many times, he will likely not get involved in any incumbent primaries,†said Sean Rushton, Mr. Cruz’s communications director.
Mr. Cruz’s presence in the Senate is an illustration of the conservative bent of the state’s Republican primary voters and the potential of at least
an opening for Mr. Stockman. The freshman senator toppled a better-funded and better-known opponent, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, to win his party’s Senate nomination last year. But there are myriad differences between that race and Mr. Stockman’s 11th-hour challenge, most notably the short window the congressman has to put together a campaign against a formidable opponent who has a solidly conservative record.
Mr. Cornyn’s campaign manager, Brendan Steinhauser, made no mention of Mr.Stockman in a statement Monday night.
“Endorsed by Texas Right to Life and ranked as the 2nd most conservative Senator in America, Senator Cornyn looks forward to discussing his
conservative record with Texans,†said Mr. Steinhauser.
What is certain, though, is that Mr. Stockman will keep Mr. Cornyn tethered to the right at least through March. A supporter of impeaching President Barack Obama who has a penchant for making provocative statements, the Houston-area congressman is likely to raise questions about the incumbent’s fidelity to the conservative movement. Mr. Cornyn was criticized by some on the right for breaking with Mr. Cruz in the debate over whether to tie the federal health law to funding the federal government. In entering the race Monday, Mr. Stockman cited that split, telling a conservative website that the incumbent “undermined†Mr. Cruz’s effort to block funding for the health law.
