Well, this explains a lot.

A new poll suggests there is at least one fellow Republican who could unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018: Rick Perry.

The former Texas governor would beat Cruz by 9 percentage points, according to the forthcoming survey from the Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling. Set to be released later today, the poll found Perry would get 46 percent of the vote and Cruz 37 percent, with 18 percent saying they are not sure whom they would support.

Clash of the Uncouth Titans.

Can you even imagine the number of prayer meetings and tent revivals boxing matches those two could generate?  Not even to mention gun fights.

There is some good news from the same poll, though.

Another standout finding from the poll is that despite Texas’ proud pro-gun tradition, voters strongly support some new regulations on the purchase of firearms. Eighty-nine percent say every person who wants to buy a gun should undergo a criminal background check, while 83 percent back legislation that prohibit people on the terrorist watch list from purchasing a firearm.

Hell, 48% of Texans said they would support a nationwide ban on assault weapons.  Two years ago, that number was 4% and a couple of those people were lying.