Rep. Greg Laughlin of southeast Texas, a four-term Democrat who became a Republican last year, lost his party's primary last night. House leaders had awarded Laughlin a seat on the Ways and Means committee, and nationally prominent Republicans had campaigned aggressivley for him, but he was beaten by Ron Paul, a former Libertarian candidate for president. Today Democrats were quick to call Laughlin's defeat a sign of things to come for the other four party-switchers in the House. But Republicans say the dynamics of a very individual race were to blame. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.
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