Lizzie Pannill Fletcher
Quick Facts
Biography
Elizabeth Ann Pannill Fletcher (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.
Early life and education
Fletcher was born at Hermann Hospital in Houston on February 13, 1975. Fletcher was raised in the River Oaks neighborhood of Houston, later graduating from St. John's School.
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.
She then returned to Houston, where she worked for the law firm Vinson & Elkins. Later, she worked at Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing, where she handled complex business litigation cases, becoming their first female law partner in 2015.
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. 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.)
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.) Fletcher became the first Democrat to represent the district since its relocation to Houston, and is also the first woman to represent the district.
Tenure
Committee assignments
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management (Vice Chair)
- Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
- Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
- Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
- Subcommittee on Environment
- Subcommittee on Energy (Chair)
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. She met her husband, Scott, when they both worked at the same law firm.