The city of Houston rejected the Hillary Clinton-backed choice for mayor in a landslide this weekend. 

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) lost the runoff election to John Whitmire, a local tough-on-crime Democrat. 

It wasn't close: Whitmire triumphed by a two-to-one margin.

Clinton's candidate loses BIG

Clinton had endorsed Lee in a speech in October, calling her eminently qualified for the role.

“She has been a champion for as long as I’ve known her, as long as she’s represented many of you in Congress,” Clinton said. “We need her leadership, her advocacy, her grit, to get stuff done for the people of Houston.”

Lee was also endorsed by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.), but Houston voters ended up rebuking the Democratic party establishment and picking Whitmire. The Texas state senator appealed to concerns with rising crime.

Birds of a feather

Clinton backed Lee even as she faced scandal over a leaked recording that showed her using foul language to berate her staff.

She called her employees "big a** children" and "f***ing idiots who serve no god--- purpose."

The leak wasn't the first time that voters heard about Lee's bossy behavior.

The congresswoman has a reputation for being nasty with those she perceives to be beneath her - and she's often quick to play the victim when criticized.

In a notorious incident from 2017, Lee accused a white woman of racism after she claimed Lee stole her first-class seat on an airplane.

In a separate incident years prior, Lee exploded at a flight attendant over a seafood meal, saying, "Don't you know who I am?"

Warning signs for Biden

It's not so hard to see why Clinton endorsed her - they're birds of a feather, after all.

Whitmire alluded to Lee's bullying behavior in his victory speech Saturday.

"People want to go to work for me because we respect people. We don't bully people," Whitmire said.

Despite her sobering setback, Lee is promising to stay in politics. The 73-year-old must decide by Monday whether she will seek re-election in the House.

The crime wave rippling through cities nationwide has become a top concern for voters, but Democrats have attempted to downplay the issue or even blame it on Republicans somehow.

Will Biden suffer the same fate as Lee? Both are unpopular establishment fossils in a political environment where voters are seeking new leadership. And Biden has Clinton's backing as well.

That may prove to be a liability in the long run.