So there's been drama in Houston regarding one of our congressional primary races.
On Friday, the
DCCC decided to publish their opposition research on one of the candidates running for what everyone thinks might be a swing district Texas-07. This Progressive candidate
founded Daily Action right after the 2016 election, a text service that connects Progressives with their representatives on specific issues. She also moved to Texas from DC right before announcing her candidacy, but she grew up in Houston and her parents live here. Her husband was Barack Obama's videographer from 2007 until I think 2011 or so, and he's now a partner in a political media company. I believe they worked on the Sanders campaign (among others). She's been a writer and they have two kids (one of whom
threw a temper tantrum right before the White House seder in front of the President a few years back).
There are seven candidates running, and there will be most definitely be a runoff.
Until recently the DCCC favored candidate and the Emily's List endorsed candidate have risen to the top in terms of fundraising, but the Progressive has been surging in 2018 dollars raised. And
she says this brouhaha has generated a lot more in donations.
The general word on the street is that this race is too dear to the Democrats to end up in the hands of a Progressive with baggage. As a writer who wasn't thinking of a political career, there is probably a lot (more*) out there that she's said that could be problematic to justify. Additionally, the relationship with her husband's media company has come up. Her FCC filings have shown her campaign has paid them about $50,000.
It's one of the districts that voted for Hilary but also retained their Republican Congressman John Culberson. (I used to live in the district until the lines were redrawn in 2013. I'm now in CD2, with a retiring Republican candidate and nine Republicans and five Democrats running.) It's a very diverse district, and it's been changing rapidly over the years. It's probably a centrist district, and it hasn't had a serious Democratic contender in years. Early voting has been going on for about a week now, so ballots have been cast well before this memo hit. Democrats are voting in record numbers right now in the early voting, and the actual primary is March 6.
Complicating this even more (for me only), the little girl throwing the temper tantrum in front of the President was named after my sister. Laura and Claudia were best friends in high school, and they've been as close as high school friends who live in different cities (until now) can be as adults. AND the Emily's list endorsed candidate was one of my
brother's best friends in high school. They sort of drifted after high school, but kept more or less aware of each other until three or four years ago, when they were both on the board of an arts organization together and started hanging out again. Now, my brother is actively campaigning for one, and my sister for the other. (None of them live in the district either. One is in the 18th and the other is in the 29th. We live four miles apart and are in three separate districts, with another two blocks from my house. Gotta love gerrymandering.) I know one of the other candidates peripherally, and another ALSO went to our high school, but I don't know him. I've stayed the hell out of it, saying that I'll support whoever emerges after the primary.
What I don't get is what the fuck the DCCC is doing. This has done nothing for any of the other candidates but it has elevated Laura. I thought she was hitting desperation time because she brought in Hollywood types to campaign for her at the last minute, but events that weren't getting much traction suddenly are filling up because people are so pissed about the DCCC hit. Every article has only talked about Laura, not the others. I don't know if any locals were consulted before they decided to make their hit, but it's backfired. And it's shitty, because if she emerges, she's going to have hits from both sides and it's probably going to lose the district. If she's in the runoff, the other Democrat is going to have to hit her as hard as possible with this stuff, and anything else dug up. And Culberson is probably begging for her to win so he can take hits at her. I told my sister to give as much support to her friend as she can, because she's going to need it. I don't disagree that the stuff brought up by the DCCC needs to be addressed, but it should have come out months ago, not while voting is going on.
Every time the DCCC calls me asking for donations, I tell them to pound sand because until now, they've shown no interest whastsoever in Texas. Now, I want them to go away.
*The DCCC cites a Slate article she wrote that says she'd rather have her teeth pulled without anesthesia than move to Paris, Texas.
