HOUSTON – The runoff election deciding which of two Democratic candidates will face off against nine-term Republican John Culberson came to a head Tuesday night.
Lizzie Pannill Fletcher came out on top of Laura Moser to earn the seat.
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It's a race that's getting a lot of national attention because it's a seat the national Democratic Party thinks it can flip to gain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Here are three things know about the hotly contested race:
Who are the Democratic primary runoff candidates?
There were seven people vying for the 7th Congressional District Democratic nomination, but writer/activist Moser and attorney Fletcher were the top two vote-getters, leading to the runoff election.
Why is Culberson seen as vulnerable this election year?
The national Democratic Party believes it can win this seat because Hillary Clinton carried the district during the 2016 presidential election.
Culberson, a nine-term incumbent has been widely criticized in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Critics say he didn't do enough work on flood prevention before the storm and hasn't been effective in securing federal funds after the storm.
Does Moser or Fletcher have a shot at winning in November?
UH Downtown political science professor David Branham says there is a chance, but despite opposition to Culberson and Clinton's district win in 2016, the area remains largely conservative. And the two Democratic candidates' similar liberal ideology may not resonate with Republican voters.
"The issue in this race will be whether a candidate that's as liberal as one of these two can actually be a viable candidate in a district that's traditionally very conservative," Branham said.
Voters will get to decide who to send to Washington on Nov. 6.