Sanders allies endorse Texas candidate attacked by DCCC

A progressive group allied with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed a Texas Democrat running in a crowded House primary on March 1, just days after House Democrats’ campaign arm targeted the candidate.

The move sets the stage for a clash between progressive Democrats and the party’s more moderate Washington establishment.

The Sanders-affiliated group, Our Revolution, is the latest progressive group to fire back at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for the attacks on candidate Laura Moser, calling the group’s attacks “ridiculous.”

With less two weeks to go before Texas’s March primary, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee posted opposition research on its website aimed at Moser, a journalist and activist, who is running for Rep. John Culberson’s (R) Houston-area seat.

In its attacks, the DCCC called Moser a “Washington insider” and noted a 2014 story she wrote for Washingtonian magazine where she said she’d “rather have my teeth pulled out without anasthesia” than live in Paris, Texas.

{mosads}Our Revolution also praised Moser as a “rising progressive advocate.” The group’s statewide chapter, Our Revolution Texas, has already backed her candidacy.

“From her support for a $15 minimum wage and Medicare for All to her commitment to improving the immigration system, Laura will not just hold a congressional seat, she’ll put it to work creating policies that work for grassroots people, not just for the billionaires,” Jim Hightower, an Our Revolution board member, said in a statement.

“The people of Texas should be allowed to make their own decisions on who to vote for without the influence of Washington insiders.”

Moser is one of seven Democrats competing in Tuesday’s primary for a chance to take on Culberson, a key target for House Democrats. Hillary Clinton narrowly won Culberson’s district in 2016, and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up.

Moser’s campaign said she’s gotten an “overwhelming response” since the attacks, raising nearly $90,000 in four days.

But the DCCC has framed her as an unelectable candidate in a crucial race. Communications director Meredith Kelly said that Moser’s “disgust for life in Texas disqualifies her as a general election candidate.”

Moser has been a prolific fundraiser, keeping pace with other top Democratic candidates in the race, including Alex Triantaphyllis and Lizzie Pannill Smith. Moser raised the most of the crowded field in pre-primary reports that included fundraising from January to mid-February.

But with such a large field, it’s unlikely that any candidate will be able to garner 50 percent of the vote. If no one reaches that threshold, the top two vote-getters will compete in a May 22 runoff.