Lizzie Fletcher | |
---|---|
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 |
Scott Fletcher (m. 2007) |
Relatives | Katherine Center (sister) |
Education | Kenyon College (BA) College of William and Mary (JD) |
Website | House website |
Elizabeth Ann Fletcher[1] (née Pannill; born February 13, 1975) is an American attorney and politician from Texas. A Democrat, she has represented Texas's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. The district includes parts of southwestern Houston and Harris County, as well as northern portions of Fort Bend County.
Fletcher was born at Hermann Hospital in Houston on February 13, 1975.[2][3] She grew up in the River Oaks neighborhood of Houston and graduated from St. John's School.[4]
Fletcher left Texas to attend Kenyon College in Ohio, where she earned Phi Beta Kappa honors, and attended William & Mary Law School in Virginia.[2]
She returned to Houston, where she worked for the law firm Vinson & Elkins, where she met her husband, Scott.[5][6] Later, she worked at Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing and became the firm's first female law partner.[2][7]
Fletcher defeated Laura Moser in the Democratic Party primary election after a primary and runoff election that sharply divided Democrats between Fletcher (backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) and Moser (backed by Our Revolution).[8][9]
In the November 6 general election, Fletcher campaigned as a moderate against nine-term Republican incumbent John Culberson, defeating him by five percentage points (52.5% to 47.5%).[10][11] Culberson carried his longstanding base of west Houston, parts of which he had represented for three decades at the state and federal levels, and the Memorial area, but could not overcome Fletcher's strong performance in the district's share of southwest Houston and the Bear Creek area.
Upon her swearing-in on January 3, 2019, Fletcher became the first Democrat and woman to represent the district since its creation in 1967.[11]
Fletcher was reelected with 50.8% of the vote to Republican nominee Wesley Hunt's 47.5%.[12] Despite winning by a smaller margin than 2018, she held down-ballot drop-off voting to less than 4% from top-ballot candidate Joe Biden, who carried the district with 54% of the vote.[citation needed]
Fletcher was reelected with 63.7% of the vote to Republican nominee Johnny Teague's 36.21%.[13] She benefited from the 2020 congressional redistricting that shifted her district from a margin of 8.5 percentage points for Democrats to a 30-point margin.[14]
As of August 2023, Fletcher had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 99% of the time.[15]
In 2022, Fletcher was one of 16 Democrats to vote against the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[16][17]
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 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Lizzie Fletcher (incumbent) | 159,529 | 50.8 | |
Republican | Wesley Hunt | 149,054 | 47.4 | |
Libertarian | Shawn Kelly | 5,542 | 1.8 | |
Total votes | 314,125 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Lizzie Fletcher (incumbent) | 115,994 | 63.7 | |
Republican | Johnny Teague | 65,835 | 36.2 | |
Total votes | 181,929 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
Fletcher is the sister of Katherine Center.[24] She met her husband, Scott, at the law firm where they both worked.[6]
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.
Moser still made it into a runoff against Fletcher but was unable to build momentum during the next two months.
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.
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.
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