Rep. Steve Stockman's campaign for Senate is off to a very rocky start.
In a private poll conducted by the Republican firm Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research and reported by POLITICO, Stockman currently trails current Texas Sen. John Cornyn, 50 to 6, with 39% undecided.
Stockman, who announced last week he would challenge Cornyn in next March's GOP Senate primary, told the conservative website World Net Daily that one of the reasons he was running against his fellow Republican was because of Cornyn's treatment of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
"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," Stockman said.
He added, “If you disagree with someone, that’s fine, but I really believe you should do it privately, not so publicly."
Cornyn had said earlier this month he did not think the effort to defund the Affordable Care Act was achievable, and that the shutdown hurt Republicans in the long run.
Stockman's challenge is an uphill battle to unseat a veteran senator with more than a decade of experience in the Senate. The showdown between the two is also one of the major fights representing the "civil war" that continues to divide the Republican Party.
But Stockman's less-than-savory reputation and his extreme financial disadvantage seems to be of little concern to the tea party congressman. "In Texas, conservative policies win over stabbing fellow Republicans in the back," he said.