Lizzie Fletcher | |
|---|---|
.jpeg) Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's7th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | John Culberson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elizabeth Ann Pannill (1975-02-13)February 13, 1975 (age 50) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Relatives | Katherine Center (sister) |
| Education | Kenyon College (BA) College of William and Mary (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Elizabeth Ann Fletcher[1] (néePannill; born February 13, 1975) is an American attorney and politician from Texas. ADemocrat, she has representedTexas's 7th congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives since 2019. The district, which was once represented by formerPresidentGeorge H. W. Bush, includes parts of southwesternHouston andHarris County, as well as northern portions ofFort Bend County.
Fletcher was born Elizabeth Ann Pannill atHermann Hospital inHouston on February 13, 1975.[2][3] She grew up in theRiver Oaks neighborhood of Houston and graduated fromSt. John's School.[4]
Fletcher left Texas to attendKenyon College inOhio, where she earnedPhi Beta Kappa honors, and attendedWilliam & Mary Law School inVirginia.[2]
She returned to Houston, where she worked for the law firmVinson & 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 defeatedLaura Moser in theDemocratic Partyprimary election after a primary and runoff election that sharply divided Democrats between Fletcher (backed by theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee) and Moser (backed byOur Revolution).[8][9]
In the November 6 general election, Fletcher campaigned as a moderate against nine-term Republican incumbentJohn 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 theMemorial area, but could not overcome Fletcher's strong performance in the district's share of southwest Houston and the Bear Creek area. The 7th had historically been one of the most, if notthe most, conservative districts in Houston and in Texas; underscoring this, Fletcher was only the third Democrat to win as much as 40 percent of the vote since the district was created in 1967.
Upon her swearing-in on January 3, 2019, Fletcher became the first Democrat and woman to represent the district.[11]
Fletcher was reelected with 50.8% of the vote to Republican nomineeWesley 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 candidateJoe 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] Most of the more Republican parts of the old 7th were shifted to the new38th district, which was won by Hunt.
As of August 2023, Fletcher had voted in line withJoe Biden's stated position 99% of the time.[15]
In 2022, Fletcher was one of 16 Democrats to vote against theMerger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[16][17]
In February 2023, Fletcher, along with RepresentativesRandy Weber (R‑TX 14th),Nancy Mace (R‑SC 01st),Abigail Spanberger (D‑VA 07th),Don Davis (D‑NC 01st), andAnna Eshoo (D‑CA 16th), introduced theReinvesting in Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems Act, which aims to share federal offshore wind power revenue with states for coastal protection and restoration work. The bill was also introduced in the Senate.[18][19]
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In 2025, Fletcher's office was moved to theRayburn House Office Building.[20]
| 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 | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| 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 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lizzie Fletcher (incumbent) | 115,994 | 63.8 | |
| Republican | Johnny Teague | 65,835 | 36.2 | |
| Total votes | 181,829 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lizzie Fletcher (incumbent) | 149,820 | 61.3 | |
| Republican | Caroline Kane | 94,651 | 38.7 | |
| Total votes | 244,471 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
Fletcher is the sister ofKatherine Center.[29] 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.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's 7th congressional district 2019–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 202nd | Succeeded by |
| People | |
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| Other | |
