Lizzie Fletcher
Elizabeth Ann Pannill Fletcher[1] (born February 13, 1975) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Texas. A Democrat, she is the member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 7th congressional district. The district, which was once represented by former President George H. W. Bush, includes much of western Houston.
Lizzie Pannill Fletcher | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 7th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
Preceded by | John Culberson |
Personal details | |
Born | Elizabeth Ann Pannill February 13, 1975 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Scott Fletcher |
Relatives | Katherine Center (sister) |
Education | Kenyon College (BA) College of William and Mary (JD) |
Website | House website |
Early life and education
Fletcher was born at Hermann Hospital in Houston on February 13, 1975.[2][3] Fletcher was raised in the River Oaks neighborhood of Houston, later graduating from St. John's School.[4]
She left Texas to attend Kenyon College in Ohio, where she earned Phi Beta Kappa honors, and then attended William & Mary Law School in Virginia.[2]
She then returned to Houston, where she worked for the law firm Vinson & Elkins.[5][6] Later, she worked at Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing, where she handled complex business litigation cases, becoming their first female law partner in 2015.[2][7]
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
In the 2018 elections, Fletcher ran for the United States House of Representatives in Texas's 7th congressional district.[8] She defeated Laura Moser in the Democratic Party primary election after a primary and runoff election that saw Democrats sharply divided between Fletcher (backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) and Moser (backed by Bernie Sanders's group Our Revolution.)[9][10]
In the November 6 general election, Fletcher campaigned as a moderate against nine-term Republican incumbent John Culberson, ultimately defeating him by five percentage points (52.5% versus 47.5% of all votes.)[11][12] Culberson held his own in his longstanding base of west Houston, parts of which he had represented for three decades at the state and federal levels, as well as in the Memorial area. However, Fletcher out-performed him in the district's share of southwest Houston, as well as the Bear Creek area.
Upon her swearing-in on January 3, 2019; Fletcher became the first Democrat to represent the district since its creation in 1967, and is the first woman to represent the district.[12] Her victory ended a 52-year hold on the district by the GOP. Bush, the district's first representative, was succeeded by House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Archer in 1971. Archer handed the seat to Culberson in 2001. As a measure of how Republican this district has historically been, Fletcher is only the third Democrat to garner even 40 percent of the vote in the district.
Tenure
Committee assignments
Caucus memberships
- New Democrat Coalition
- Task Force on Trade (Co-Chair)
- Health Care Task Force
- Natural Gas Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Anti-Semitism Caucus
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
- Black Maternal Health Caucus
- Diabetes Caucus
- Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus
- Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
- National Corrosion Caucus
- Oil and Gas Caucus
- Pro-Choice Caucus
- Small Brewers Caucus
- Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation
- U.S.-Japan Caucus
Electoral history
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Lizzie Fletcher | 9,731 | 29.3 | |
Democratic | Laura Moser | 8,077 | 24.4 | |
Democratic | Jason Westin | 6,364 | 19.2 | |
Democratic | Alex Triantaphyllis | 5,219 | 15.7 | |
Democratic | Ivan Sanchez | 1,890 | 5.7 | |
Democratic | Joshua Butler | 1,245 | 3.7 | |
Democratic | James Cargas | 650 | 2.0 | |
Total votes | 33,176 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Lizzie Fletcher | 11,423 | 67.1 | |
Democratic | Laura Moser | 5,605 | 32.9 | |
Total votes | 17,028 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Lizzie Fletcher | 127,959 | 52.5 | |
Republican | John Culberson (incumbent) | 115,642 | 47.5 | |
Total votes | 243,601 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
Personal life
Fletcher is the sister of Katherine Center.[16] She met her husband, Scott, at the law firm they both worked at.[6]
References
- William and Mary Law Review Staff, 2004-2005
- "Texas New Members 2019". The Hill. November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
A Houston native, Fletcher grew up in the district before heading to Ohio to attend Kenyon College, where she was in the academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa. She later attended William & Mary Law School.
- "Meet Lizzie Fletcher | Lizzie Pannill Fletcher | U.S. Congress | Texas 7th Congressional District". Lizziefletcher.com. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- Abby Livingston (May 24, 2018). "Lizzie Pannill Fletcher's bid against U.S. Rep. John Culberson emerging as major fall fight". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- "In this Texas district, the Democrats seem serious about winning". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- Elaina Plott (September 2, 2018). "Democrats Hope to Flip Houston's Seventh House District". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- By Andrew Edmonson. "War for the West – OutSmart Magazine". Outsmartmagazine.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- Scherer, Jasper (October 22, 2018). "Culberson, Fletcher face off in only debate - Houston Chronicle". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
The debate, held on the eve of early voting, contained mostly recurring themes from the campaign trail. The well-funded candidates have traded sharp rhetorical blows in the media and through TV ads, with Fletcher attacking Culberson’s record and the congressman casting his opponent as too liberal.
- Sullivan, Sean; Weigel, Dave (May 23, 2018). "Lizzie Fletcher defeats Laura Moser in bitter Democratic primary in Texas". Washington Post. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
Moser still made it into a runoff against Fletcher but was unable to build momentum during the next two months.
- Livingston, Abby (May 24, 2018). "With primary behind her, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher's bid against U.S. Rep. John Culberson emerging as major midterm fight for fall". Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
Moser placed second behind Fletcher out of seven candidates in the March primary but lost badly to Fletcher in a runoff Tuesday night...But while Moser ran a spirited campaign against Fletcher, she conceded the race quickly and graciously and pledged to back Fletcher's bid.
- Edgar Walters and Kathryn Lundstrom (November 6, 2018). "Democrat Lizzie Fletcher defeats Texas GOP Congressman John Culberson". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- Scherer, Jasper (November 7, 2018). "Lizzie Fletcher looks to legislate the way she won: in moderation". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
When Fletcher unseated Culberson Tuesday night by a relatively comfortable five points, however, she did so behind a Houston-centric campaign that emphasized her local roots and pulled in right-leaning independents and disillusioned Republicans. Now, having flipped a seat controlled for the last 52 years by Republicans, Fletcher heads to Washington with a target on her back, but also a desire to legislate with the same moderate approach she used to build her campaign.
- "Committees and Caucuses". Lizzie. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- "2018 Primary Election Official Results". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
- "Texas Election Results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- "NYT bestselling author Katherine Center on Twitter: "Totally in awe of my little sister, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, who just announced she is running for Congress in Texas"". Twitter.com. May 12, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lizzie Fletcher. |
- Congresswoman Lizzie Pannill Fletcher official U.S. House website
- Campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Appearances on C-SPAN
U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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Preceded by John Culberson |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 7th congressional district 2019–present |
Incumbent |
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
Preceded by Ilhan Omar |
United States Representatives by seniority 391st |
Succeeded by Chris Pappas |