GOP Bid to Reclaim Senate Fuels Fight for Party's Soul

WASHINGTON (The Wall Street Journal) — Sen. John Cornyn, who is spearheading the Republicans' campaign to take back the Senate, is on a roll. The GOP snatched a seat in Massachusetts and polls favor Republicans in many key states.

But the genial Texas lawyer is facing an unusual challenge—from one of his own colleagues. Firebrand conservative Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, breaking with the Senate's tradition of deference, is endorsing and funding conservative candidates to challenge the party establishment's picks. Just last week, he backed a conservative insurgent in the Colorado Republican primary over a former lieutenant governor.

The Republican Party is in play, and the passage of President Barack Obama's health plan has inflamed the intraparty wrangling.