Laura Moser

{{Infobox politician

|name = Laura Moser

|image = Laura Moser.jpg

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1977|8|30}}

|birth_place = Houston, Texas, U.S.

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Democratic

|education = Amherst College (BA)

}}

Laura Moser is an American author and politician who founded the anti-Trump resistance movement Daily Action. She was a candidate for the United States Congress in Texas's 7th congressional district.{{Cite news|url=http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/In-the-age-of-Trump-Democrats-zero-in-on-a-11119673.php|title=In the age of Trump, Democrats zero in on a longtime GOP House seat|last=Diaz|first=Kevin|date=May 3, 2017|work=Houston Chronicle|access-date=June 26, 2017}}

Early life and education

File:Toddler Claudia Chaudhary throws a tantrum in the White House as President and Mrs. Obama, and her mother Laura Moser, look on.jpg Passover dinner as she, her husband Arun and the Obamas look on]]

Moser was born in Houston, Texas.{{cite news|last1=Chandler|first1=Michael Alison|title=In desire to turn red states blue, D.C. women return to home towns to run for office|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/as-more-women-run-for-office-district-residents-join-the-roster-of-candidates/2017/07/08/005cccf0-5b3d-11e7-a9f6-7c3296387341_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post}} Her grandfather arrived in Houston in 1942 as a refugee from Nazi Germany.{{cite news|url=http://www.vogue.com/article/laura-moser-congressional-candidate-texas-7-vogue-august-2017-issue|first=Laura|last=Moser|title=From Freelance Writer to Congressional Candidate: My Unlikely Journey to the Front of the Resistance|accessdate=August 3, 2017|publisher=Vogue}} She attended St. John's School and graduated from Amherst College in 1999.{{cite news|url=https://jwa.org/people/moser-laura|title=Jewish Women's Archive. "Laura Moser". |accessdate=June 17, 2017}} She later worked in publishing at the Harvill Press in London before becoming a freelance journalist. Moser is Jewish.{{Cite web |title=Laura Moser |url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/moser-laura |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=Jewish Women's Archive |language=en}}

Publications and career

Moser published her first book, an "efficient, compact" biography of the actress Bette Davis, in 2005.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/oct/23/featuresreviews.guardianreview27|title=Reading, writing and the dramatic | first = Catherine | last = Taylor |newspaper=The Guardian |accessdate=June 17, 2017}} With her friend Lauren Mechling, she co-authored a series of young adult novels about the experiences of a girl who moves from Houston to Brooklyn.{{cite web |last1=Kirchner |first1=Renee |title=The Rise and Fall of a 10th-Grade Social Climber |url=https://www.teenreads.com/reviews/the-rise-and-fall-of-a-10th-grade-social-climber |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913062940/https://www.teenreads.com/reviews/the-rise-and-fall-of-a-10th-grade-social-climber |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |date=May 30, 2005 |access-date=September 18, 2023}}

Moser has contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, and The Jewish Daily Forward. She was the education columnist at Slate.{{cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/authors.laura_moser.html|title="Schooled" blog| first = Laura | last = Moser |publisher=Slate |accessdate=June 17, 2017}}

Political involvement

After the 2016 United States presidential election, Moser founded the organization Daily Action.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/a-capitol-hill-mom-directs-thousands-of-anti-trump-activists-by-sending-texts-from-her-living-room/2017/01/27/cf0538f2-e447-11e6-a547-5fb9411d332c_story.html |title=Capitol Hill mom directs thousands of anti-Trump activists with texts sent from her living room| first = Michael Alison | last = Chandler |newspaper=The Washington Post |accessdate=June 17, 2017}} In 2017, she moved back to Texas's 7th congressional district to run for Congress in 2018.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democrats-are-fielding-a-glut-of-house-candidates-in-2018-but-remain-divided-on-how-to-win/2017/06/25/35679f14-55bc-11e7-b38e-35fd8e0c288f_story.html|title=Democrats field a glut of House candidates in 2018 but remain divided on how to win|last=O'Keefe|first=Ed|date=June 25, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=June 26, 2017}}

In February 2018, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), citing concerns about Moser's electability in the general election, called attention to her past controversial statements.{{Cite web |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/article/DCCC-redoubles-attack-on-Laura-Moser-in-12888593.php|title=DCCC head stands by attack on Laura Moser in Democratic primary runoff with Lizzie Fletcher |last=Diaz |first=Kevin |work=Houston Chronicle |quote=As he has in the past, Lujan said the DCCC's move was about promoting what party officials see as the most electable candidate to challenge Seventh Congressional District Republican incumbent John Culberson in November...Meanwhile, the DCCC has backed away from formally endorsing Fletcher.|date=May 4, 2018 |accessdate=May 26, 2018}} That DCCC action was condemned by DNC chair Tom Perez{{Cite web |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/376498-dnc-chair-responds-to-dccc-opposition-research-on-progressive-i-wouldnt/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622192644/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/376498-dnc-chair-responds-to-dccc-opposition-research-on-progressive-i-wouldnt|url-status=live|archive-date=June 22, 2018|title=DNC chair questions House campaign arm's attack on progressive candidate |last=Greenwood |first=Max |work=The Hill |quote="I would have done it differently," he continued. "I think the DCCC has the ability to endorse in primaries, and they do that from time to time. But again, I would have done it differently."...The DCCC has framed Moser as an unelectable candidate in a critical race, pointing to concerns about her residency and accusations that her husband is improperly benefitting financially from her campaign. The Sanders-affiliated group called the DCCC's attacks "ridiculous." |date=March 3, 2018}} and Our Revolution, which endorsed Moser a few days later, on March 1, 2018.{{Cite web |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/376257-sanders-allies-endorse-texas-dem-amid-dccc-attacks/ |title=Sanders allies endorse Texas candidate attacked by DCCC |last=Hagen |first=Lisa |work=The Hill |quote=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. |date=March 1, 2018 |access-date=May 26, 2018}}

In the March 6 Democratic primary, in a seven-candidate field, Moser earned 24.3% of the vote to Lizzie Fletcher's 29.3%.[https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/texas-house-district-7-primary-election Texas Primary Election Results: Seventh House District], The New York Times, Jasmine C. Lee, Sarah Almukhtar & Matthew Bloch, March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.

In the May 22 runoff, Fletcher defeated Moser, 68% to 32%, becoming the Democratic nominee in the general election.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/live-updates/midterms/live-primary-election-results/lizzie-fletcher-defeats-laura-moser-in-bitter-democratic-primary-in-texas/ |title=Lizzie Fletcher defeats Laura Moser in bitter Democratic primary in Texas |last1=Sullivan |first1=Sean |last2=Weigel |first2=Dave |newspaper=Washington Post |quote=Moser still made it into a runoff against Fletcher but was unable to build momentum during the next two months. |date=May 23, 2018 |accessdate=May 26, 2018}}

In the November 6 general election, Fletcher defeated incumbent representative John Culberson by five percentage points (52.5% to 47.5%).{{Cite web |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Lizzie-Fletcher-looks-to-legislate-the-way-she-13380859.php |title=Lizzie Fletcher looks to legislate the way she won: in moderation |last=Scherer |first=Jasper |work=Houston Chronicle |quote=The primary in effect became a referendum on whether Democrats should oppose Culberson by whipping up the dormant part of their base or, by nominating Fletcher, pull in centrists and ex-Republicans. Tuesday's election results proved they could do both: In beating Culberson with more than 52 percent of the vote, Fletcher's winning coalition included right-leaning moderates, but also hardline progressives who turned out in droves to support Democrat Beto O'Rourke's turnout-driven Senate campaign. |date=November 7, 2018 |accessdate=November 20, 2018}}

Personal life

Moser is married to Arun Chaudhary, who was President Barack Obama's White House videographer.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/first-cameraman-documenting-the-obama-presidency-in-real-time-by-arun-chaudhary/2012/08/23/5669da7c-e610-11e1-8741-940e3f6dbf48_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|title='First Cameraman: Documenting the Obama Presidency in Real Time,' by Arun Chaudhary| first = David | last = Greenberg |accessdate=June 17, 2017}} Her brother is writer and translator Benjamin Moser. She has two children.{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/apr/15/laura-moser-daughter-claudia-barack-obama-white-house |title=As Barack Obama came in, my two-year-old daughter threw herself on the floor |last=Moser |first=Laura |work=The Guardian |quote=I think Claudia will like the photograph when she is old enough to understand it...Arun worked for Obama for four years, and we have pictures of my son Leo with him at Halloween over the years. |date=April 15, 2016 |access-date=January 25, 2021}} In April 2020, she and her family moved to Berlin, Germany.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/my-grandfather-fled-the-nazis-i-moved-to-his-old-neighborhood|title=My Grandfather Fled the Nazis. I Moved to His Old Neighborhood|first=Laura|last=Moser|magazine=The New Yorker |date=April 18, 2021|via=www.newyorker.com}}