However, both go to a primary. DCCC's poisoning post against Moser likely was designed with this scenario in mind, telling the donor class to avoid Moser and to pile tons of money onto the Fletcher bandwagon.
(See earlier detailed Crabgrass post, here, for history detail; with suitable links and quotes.)
NY Times presents the TX CD 7 result with an image. Neither Moser nor Fletcher gained a majority so that each advances to a mid-May Democratic Party top-two run-off primary [click the NYT screencapture to enlarge and read]:
Additional reporting, Texas Tribune, and HuffPo.
With the DCCC having published its misleading hit piece against Moser; the impact is that to win Moser, the progressive in the contest, needs many individual contributions to counter the establishment big-donor cash that will be flowing into Fletcher's campaign.
Contribution detail:
https://moserforcongress.com/
From that Moser campaign homepage reader/donors can navigate to an Act Blue page, or snail mail a check:
Laura Moser for Congress
5711 Bissonnet St.
Bellaire, TX 77401
Remember, contributing to DCCC, DNC or in this instance Emily's List (see earlier Crabgrass post; or this item) lets them make contribution decisions for you; whereas direct contribution to a candidate lets you voice your specific choice. Also, snail mail checks are not tithed a percentage, as is the case with Act Blue taking a cut.
Readers are urged to do as I shall, today, and that is to contribute an affordable but generous multiple of $27 to the Moser effort.
Giving once is great. Giving multiple times is greater.
To fight beltway control a Moser victory is imperative - in the party primary for certain, and ideally in the November general election against the Republican incumbent. Moser winning will send another progressive to Congress; the more the merrier.
So remember: What you contribute will have an impact on Ms. Moser's ability to contest her primary against the inner party establishment's choice. And to later unseat the Republican.
____________UPDATE_____________
This post is not only a message for Berniecrats. There is a union-busting dimension to the Fletcher candidacy [as a Democrat, no less], HuffPo's coverage today noting:
Fletcher picked up the influential endorsement of EMILY’s List, a Democratic group that helps women candidates who support abortion rights. However, local labor unions deeply opposed her bid, since her law firm represented a janitorial services company that successfully blocked its largely immigrant workforce from unionizing and sued the local chapter of the Service Employees International Union that had been trying to organize the workers. The SEIU chapter subsequently declared bankruptcy.
The Working Families Party, a progressive group with some labor union funding, already spent $20,000 on targeted social media ads blasting Fletcher for her work with the law firm. The group plans to spend more informing the public about the issue during the runoff.
“Lizzie Fletcher’s law firm, and Lizzie herself as a partner, profited from the pain and loss of immigrant women janitors. That’s not right,” Working Families Party communications director Joe Dinkin said. “If Democrats are going to win in November, we need candidates who fight for working families, not fight against them.”
For her part, Moser’s bold positions and deep roots in the resistance drew the backing of local activists and national organizations like Democracy for America and Justice Democrats. Outspoken liberal actor Alyssa Milano also volunteered for her campaign.
But the DCCC grew concerned that nominating a progressive like Moser would dash Democrats’ general-election hopes in the affluent, Republican-leaning district. In an apparent bid to prevent her from advancing, the House Democrats group took the highly unusual step on Feb. 22 of posting an opposition research memo about Moser on its website.
First sentence of that quote; Moser supports abortion rights, but Emily's list is playing favorites.
Beyond that SEIU was a target of Fletcher's law firm. Nothing is reported tying Fletcher to a direct role in litigation against SEIU, but her firm represents employers, not labor.
So, Bernicrats and labor contributions should properly be routed nationwide to the Moser effort.
Labor has to carry its share, since it has a voice and seat at the Democratic Party table. Union folks, contribute to Moser. That message is simple, but easily ignored among rank and file, to the detriment of union power.
And union leadership as well as rank and file outside of Texas have to be wondering: What help is DCCC conduct to our needs and values? The suggestion is there is an unambiguous answer. DCCC and its beltway consultancy hangers-on will undercut unions in a headlong quest for DC-based party dominance.
As a closing observation - Intertwined goals is the reason Larry Cohen chairs Our Revolution. Figure that out. And - Bless the nurses and communications workers.
___________FURTHER UPDATE___________
There's more. The Intercept in an older item linked to earlier in this post reported:
EMILY’s List, while expending resources in several competitive primaries between women, has also stayed out of other races that pit a pro-choice woman against an anti-choice man. Despite significant pressure, the group held out on endorsing Marie Newman against Democratic incumbent Daniel Lipinski, only shifting course when it became clear the SEIU would be breaking with Lipinski.
The group has also declined to endorse the pro-choice Kara Eastman running against anti-choice Democrat Brad Ashford; the same is true for Lupe Valdez running against Andrew White for Texas governor. (White says that he believes Roe v. Wade is the law of the land and that his religious beliefs would not influence how he approached the issue, but he is far from a champion of reproductive rights.)
The support of first Merfish and then EMILY’s List for Fletcher raises questions about whether the endorsement was made at the behest of a major donor or because the organization truly believed Fletcher is the stronger candidate.
An EMILY’s List endorsement alone is useful in helping a candidate break out of a crowded pack, but the group has also announced funding for eight rounds of mailers as well as digital ads, including video, all ahead of the upcoming primary. In justifying its decision, EMILY’s List cited Fletcher’s past activism and her legal work. “As a senior in high school, she linked arms with hundreds of other Houstonians to keep protesters out and a Planned Parenthood clinic open. Since then, she became a lawyer to help those in need and co-founded the Planned Parenthood Young Leaders program to get the next generation involved,” reads a statement from the group.
Bryan Lesswing, a spokesperson for EMILY’s List, said that the group backed Parnell Fletcher because of her local roots and a history of activism. “We see so many women running as a good problem to have. Ultimately, we want to see as many women elected as possible and that sometimes means making tough decisions,” he said.
Moser is blunt in her criticism of the group. “Rather than lifting us both up, EMILY’S List has pitted us against each other. I knew as a progressive, pro-choice woman running in Texas, I would face obstacles. I never dreamed EMILY’s List would be one of them,” she said.
Follow that link, to see "Merfish" local big-money detail in earlier paragraphs of the item.
The situation does not cast a good light on Emily's List under current leadership of that establishment operation.
All told, is Fletcher with establishment ties and union busting considerations your choice, or Moser having Our Revolution support where ties are to Bernie and through OR chairman Cohen, to Communications Workers activism.
Contribute accordingly. That Wikipedia link to Cohen notes:
Throughout his career, Cohen has chaired major contract negotiations in both the public and private sectors, at employers including Verizon and AT&T, as well as Cingular Wireless (now AT&T Mobility). Cohen was one of the first to recognize changes in telecommunications through the convergence of video, voice and data technologies, and the need to unify unionized workers in these sectors. He also has worked to expand CWA – the union now represents workers in information technology and communications; print and broadcast media and publishing; health care, education and public workers; manufacturing and the airline industry.
The characterization is as a leading edge progressive thinker as well as an effective labor organizer and negotiator.
____________FINAL UPDATE____________
Refering back to the NYT screencapture, it is troubling to see a contested Democratic election turnout lower than on the barely contested Republican side, per turnout figures at the screen shot bottom. Add a hot May primary, and DCCC may well have engineered a loss in the district rather than see a progressive win it.