Laura Moser, a progressive who ran in Texas's 7th congressional district, lost her Democratic runoff election on Tuesday after facing questionable tactics from national Democrats, who succeeded in stopping the far-left candidate from taking the party's nomination.
Moser, a Houston journalist and activist, was defeated by Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, an attorney who sits on the board of Planned Parenthood, and who was backed by the national Democratic establishment, 67.1 percent to 32.9 percent in the district's runoff election.
Actions from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) caused a rift between the establishment and progressives after the committee in February released an opposition research file on Moser, the most liberal candidate in the race.
The opposition file painted Moser as a "Washington insider" with disdain for Texas. A quote from Moser was contained within the file that she would rather have her teeth pulled out than relocate back to the state.
"Democratic voters need to hear that Laura Moser is not going to change Washington," the DCCC's website said. "She is a Washington insider, who begrudgingly moved to Houston to run for Congress. In fact, she wrote in the Washingtonian magazine, 'I'd rather have my teeth pulled out without anesthesia' than live in Texas."
The tactics caused progressive groups to escalate their battle against the DCCC and temporarily backfired, as Moser made her way out of the crowded Democratic field to the runoff election before ultimately losing on Tuesday.
Lizzie Pannill Fletcher will now face Republican Rep. John Culberson in November.