The liberal netroots, headed by DailyKos, has picked an early target for their fire: Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn. The conservative Senator is one of Capitol Hill's biggest Bush boosters, and Kossacks, as they're called, want him gone. Kos commissioned a poll from Research 2000, a respected firm on the Maryland side of the Beltway, that they hope shows State Rep. Rick Noriega has a legitimate shot at beating the incumbent.

The poll, conducted 9/24-26, surveyed 600 voters for a margin of error of +/- 4%.

General Election Matchup
(All / Men / Wom / Dem / GOP / Ind)
Cornyn 51 / 53 / 49 / 17 / 81 / 46
Noriega 35 / 34 / 36 / 60 / 16 / 35

Vote To Re-Elect Cornyn?
Re-elect 40
Consider replacing 15
Replace 35

Fav/Unfav
Cornyn 46 / 44

Cornyn Job Approval
Approve 45
Disapprove 44

Cornyn finds himself above the magic 50% number, meaning Noriega will have to work to take votes away from him. And while the race will tighten, Texas is a massive state that requires tens of millions to even be taken seriously. Whether Noriega can even come close to competing financially is a major question that will determine how tight the race becomes.

Few will deny that Cornyn is a major favorite right now. Noriega even faces a primary, from wealthy attorney Mikal Watts, who will largely self-fund. Still, Kossacks are proud of their claim that they identified Sens. Jim Webb (D-VA) and Jon Tester (D-MT) well before the mainstream media did, and even as they faced competitive primaries, and, they say, helped them win their seats.