The Republican leader in the Kentucky House, Jonathan Shell, lost his seat to a teacher who challenged him for the party’s nomination. But the Houston-area House runoff between Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, a lawyer, and Laura Moser, a journalist, turned out to be a dud. Ms. Fletcher rolled, defeating Ms. Moser in a race that Ms. Moser had effectively conceded days earlier when she complained about national Democrats choking off her fund-raising. After publicly targeting Ms. Moser before the first balloting in sharply personal terms, House Democrats handed her the sort of attention that is invaluable in multicandidate primaries. But they never got the chance because House Democrats stopped attacking Ms. Moser publicly, denying her political oxygen and all but snuffing out her chances.

Source: New York Times May 23, 2018 09:00 UTC