A Public Policy Polling survey found that Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, has past others including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky to become the top pick of GOP primary voters in the 2016 presidential nomination race. (Associated Press)
** FILE ** Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, following a vote in the Senate rejecting the latest House GOP effort to negotiate on government spending. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio), center, heads into to a GOP Conference meeting in the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., Monday, September 30, 2013. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), center, heads into to a GOP Conference meeting in the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., Monday, September 30, 2013. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) heads into to a GOP Conference meeting in the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., Monday, September 30, 2013. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), right, heads into to a GOP Conference meeting in the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., Monday, September 30, 2013. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio), right, heads into to a GOP Conference meeting in the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., Monday, September 30, 2013. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)
President Obama said an "extreme faction" in the Republican Party is putting the nation at risk of an economic calamity because of its opposition to the Affordable Health Care Act. A key feature of the health reform act is due to go into effect Tuesday. (ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS)
Speaker of the House John Boehner, Ohio Republican, and GOP leaders speak to reporters after a closed-door strategy session at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 26, 2013. (Associated Press)