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
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 7th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byJohn Culberson
Personal details
Born
Elizabeth Ann Pannill

(1975-02-13) February 13, 1975
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Scott Fletcher
RelativesKatherine Center (sister)
EducationKenyon College (BA)
College of William and Mary (JD)
WebsiteHouse 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

[13]

Electoral history
Democratic primary results[14]
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
Democratic primary runoff results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lizzie Fletcher 11,423 67.1
Democratic Laura Moser 5,605 32.9
Total votes 17,028 100.0
Texas's 7th congressional district, 2018[15]
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]

See also

References
  1. William and Mary Law Review Staff, 2004-2005
  2. "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.
  3. "Meet Lizzie Fletcher | Lizzie Pannill Fletcher | U.S. Congress | Texas 7th Congressional District". Lizziefletcher.com. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  4. 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.
  5. "In this Texas district, the Democrats seem serious about winning". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  6. Elaina Plott (September 2, 2018). "Democrats Hope to Flip Houston's Seventh House District". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  7. By Andrew Edmonson. "War for the West – OutSmart Magazine". Outsmartmagazine.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. Edgar Walters and Kathryn Lundstrom (November 6, 2018). "Democrat Lizzie Fletcher defeats Texas GOP Congressman John Culberson". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  12. 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.
  13. "Committees and Caucuses". Lizzie. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  14. "2018 Primary Election Official Results". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  15. "Texas Election Results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  16. "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.
U.S. House of Representatives
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
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