John Bogna
On Thursday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) came out against one of their own.
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Laura Moser is one of seven Democrats running for the seat of incumbent Republican John Culberson in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to the Texas Tribune.
DCCC spox on why the committee is posting opposition research on one of its own: "Unfortunately, Laura Moser’s outright disgust for life in Texas disqualifies her as a general election candidate" (Awaiting comment from Moser's camp. We'll post ASAP) https://t.co/yS8AyxphxT
— Abby Livingston (@TexasTribAbby) February 23, 2018
RELATED: Houstonians bolster record-breaking number of women running for Congress in 2018
In their posting, the DCCC claims Moser to be a “Washington insider” who begrudgingly moved back to her hometown of Houston after spending most of her professional life in other states to run for Congress.
The DCCC also notes she claimed Washington, D.C. are her primary residence to get a tax break, and that a large chunk of her campaign money is going to her husband’s consulting firm.
The DCCC is going nuclear on a Democratic Congressional candidate in Texas. In three cycles of covering these races, I ain't seen anything like this. Story to come soon. https://t.co/UxXgn5nsT5 #TX07
— Abby Livingston (@TexasTribAbby) February 22, 2018
Meredith Kelly, a spokeswoman for the DCCC, even went so far as to say in a statement to the Tribune, “Unfortunately, Laura Moser’s outright disgust for life in Texas disqualifies her as a general election candidate, and would rob voters of their opportunity to flip Texas’ 7th in November.”
Kelly referred to a 2014 Washingtonian magazine piece where Moser wrote she would “rather have teeth pulled without anesthesia” than live in Paris, Texas.
Moser published a tweet shortly after the DCCC’s publication of the post, quoting Michelle Obama: “When they go low, we go high.”
"When they go low, we go high." – true Democrat @MichelleObama
— Laura Moser (@lcmoser) February 23, 2018
In a statement issued later on, Moser said of the allegations:
We’re used to tough talk here in Texas, but it’s disappointing to hear it from Washington operatives trying to tell Texans what to do. These kind of tactics are why people hate politics. The days where party bosses picked the candidates in their smoke filled rooms are over. DC needs to let Houston vote.
Moser went on to say, “We have a real chance to not only flip District 7, but bring some sanity back to Congress and resist the erratic extremism holding our White House hostage. It’s a lot to ask, and we can’t do any of it by throwing mud and tearing each other down.”
Some say the Democratic Party is worried Moser is too liberal to carry a moderate district like the 7th, considered a GOP stronghold until this year.
Others say the DCCC is retaliating against Moser for a piece she wrote for Vogue magazine where she criticized the organization’s willingness to support anti-abortion candidates.
https://twitter.com/cruickshank/status/966822994122178560
Still, others say she’s an unreliable candidate who spreads questionable information via Twitter, and “muddies the waters” on issues like gerrymandering, using them for personal gain:
https://twitter.com/BobbyBigWheel/status/966827547903307777
Despite negative attention from some quarters, Moser’s campaign is pressing onward, set to host actress Alyssa Milano this weekend in an attempt to get more voters to the polls.
According to the Texas Tribune, her campaign announced Thursday it had raised $150,000 in the first 45 days of this year.
RELATED: Alyssa Milano is coming to Houston, but it’s not for our ‘great spring weather’
