Rep. Louie Gohmert called into Glenn Beck’s radio program today to beg listeners to donate to his re-election campaign so that he can fight back against attacks that he’s a “clown” and an embarrassment to the state of Texas.

Gohmert is facing a serious primary challenge from rancher Simon Winston, who donated a large sum of money to his own campaign and is running with the message that Congress has become a circus and “Louie Gohmert is one of the main clowns.”

The Texas Republican revealed that because he “had done so well in prior elections” and never faced a primary challenge before, he didn’t see a need to maintain a large campaign war chest, which is now coming back to haunt him since his opponent has dumped several hundred thousand dollars into a campaign to defeat him.

Gohmert’s main opponent, he said, “is a self-funder and his motto is, ‘Congress is a circus and Gohmert’s the biggest clown and he’s an embarrassment.'”

“And the problem is if people say that enough,” Gohmert stated, “then it’s possible some seeds could stick and start growing, so we have got to be up on television [and] radio. You can’t let those things go … There is a point [where] you have to defend yourself and that’s what I’m having to do so anybody who can help by going to Gohmert.com — it’s G-o-h-m-e-r-t dot com — I’d really appreciate it.”