News · Press Release

UPDATE: The Case Against Rep. John Culberson

“Born and raised in Houston, Lizzie Fletcher has dedicated her life to service and protecting economic opportunity for the people of this community. Lizzie won her competitive primary by talking straight to voters in Houston about the issues that actually matter to their economic security, health and children’s future. Lizzie is in a very strong position for the general election, and her inclusive message will strike a powerful contrast with her Republican opponent’s record of undermining investment in critical infrastructure and disaster preparedness, and raising the cost of health care for thousands of families across Texas.” –DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján

To: Interested Parties
From: Cole Leiter, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: March 22, 2018
RE: The Case Against John Culberson

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After nearly twenty years in Washington and 32 years in politics, Congressman Culberson has become a DC swamp creature – still hanging on to his decade-old Tea Party playbook and hoping it will work in a district that swung more than 22-points towards Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Instead of learning from these 2016 results and recognizing the shifts in his district, Culberson continues to march lockstep with Speaker Ryan and President Trump, despite his party pursuing a reckless agenda that hurts people in Houston.

Now that Culberson is facing Lizzie Fletcher, a well-respected Houstonian with a record of standing up for working Texans, regardless of their political party, voters in Houston will finally have the opportunity to retire this political relic. That’s because Lizzie has spent her career fighting against discrimination on behalf of Texas workers like nurses, engineers, salespeople and oilfield workers. In addition to her advocacy on the side of workers, Lizzie has stood with women whose health care was under attack and volunteered her legal services to Texas Appleseed working to dismantle the school to prison pipeline.

In contrast, Culberson has voted for the interests of his party, and against Houston. He has voted against local infrastructure development – including opposition to bills that could have helped the city manage Hurricane Harvey. He has a long anti-worker and anti-organized labor record, and his part in the Republican war on affordable healthcare is deeply damaging. Moreover, at a time when voters are determined to drain Washington’s swamp, Culberson got caught using his government insider connections to buy and sell stock.

Lizzie Fletcher is the kind of leader the new Houston is ready to elect. Lizzie has shown she will stand with women, and against Washington’s attacks on their ability to access health care. Lizzie has shown she will stand up for immigrants, not add to the gridlock keeping our immigration system broken. She has shown she will listen to her constituents, not hide behind closed doors. And instead of waiting until it’s politically convenient, like Congressman Culberson, Lizzie has shown she will work from day one to invest in critical infrastructure to keep Houstonians safer from flooding and hurricanes.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

“Fletcher is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate who edited the William and Mary Law Review, a former Vinson & Elkins attorney who later became the first woman partner at another 50-person litigation firm. Her professional credentials and connections present the Houston model of business-friendly cosmopolitanism that used to be the hallmark of local Republicans. That George H.W. Bush-James Baker model has been abandoned by the Trump crowd and now Democrats like Fletcher are starting to claim the political territory as their own.” [Houston Chronicle Editorial Board, 5/10/2018]

 

“…Culberson’s accomplishments for the 7th Congressional District, which covers west Houston neighborhoods from West University through the Energy Corridor, seem pretty thin. That historically weak record, combined with a district that went for Hillary Clinton in 2016, has attracted a strong group of Democratic challengers for the general election.” [Houston Chronicle Editorial Board, 2/18/2018]

 

“Culberson was again outraised by two Democratic challengers… The two Democrats not only raised more than the incumbent during the period, but they also emerged from the quarter with larger war chests.” [Texas Tribune,10/16/2018]

 

Headline: “Harvey’s Shadow Hangs Over Culberson’s Reelection Hopes” [Houston Public Media, 2/19/2018]

 

Headline: “GOP Rep. John Culberson Gets An Earful From Angry Voters” [Houston Chronicle, 3/27/2017]

 

Headline: “Culberson stock asset may prove political liability” [Houston Chronicle, 6/27/2017]

 

JOHN CULBERSON: A CAREER POLITICIAN OUT FOR HIMSELF, NOT HOUSTON

Culberson’s Inaction on Infrastructure Left Houston Unprepared

After Hurricane Harvey, Houstonians are paying the price for Culberson’s repeated votes opposing critical investments in Houston’s dams that were deemed to be at “high risk” of failure as early as 2004. Beyond voting with his party and against repairing deficient dams, Culberson has repeatedly undermined emergency response and preparedness in flood zones across the country. That shows how far John Culberson will go – since the beginning of his days in Washington – to stand with his political party, not the safety of Houstonians.

Self-Dealing Washington Insider

Culberson implicated himself in an insider-trading scheme, led by a fellow Republican Congressman, to make pharmaceutical stock purchases based on insider tips. As a reminder, this is the same scandal that dogged former Congressman Tom Price’s nomination to be President Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. Culberson’s apparent use of insider knowledge for his trading is consistent with his record on ethics. Culberson voted against establishing the Office of Congressional Ethics in 2008.

98.5% with Trump, Not With Houston

Even when it hurts Houstonians, Culberson stands with Speaker Ryan over 90% of the time and President Trump a mind-boggling 98.5% of the time. That vote record is deeply out of step with TX-07, which swung against Trump by more than 22-points between 2012 and 2016. Culberson’s support for the Republican agenda, backed by President Trump, includes voting to jack up healthcare costs and jeopardize access to coverage for 62,800 of his constituents, and voting to raise taxes on millions of middle class families.

Anti-Worker

John Culberson has a long record of being anti-worker and anti-union. He has repeatedly co-sponsored legislation – the Davis-Bacon Repeal Act – to end the requirement that workers receive a prevailing wage on federally funded construction contract. Culberson has also co-sponsored Right-to-Work legislation in 7 different Congresses (107th, 108th, 109th, 110th, 113th, 114th, and 115th). On top of his decades-long record of hostility to labor, Culberson has also thumbed his nose at workers earning the lowest wages, having voted against raising the minimum wage 5 times, despite the fact that his Congressional salary has increased quite a bit since Culberson came to Congress.

THE PATH TO VICTORY

TX-07’s notable primary turnout reflects a state-wide swell in early voter engagement and energy on Democrats’ side. That increase in grassroots engagement does not bode well for Congressman Culberson, whose net negative favorability, recorded in a DCCC-conducted poll from November, puts him 13-percentage points underwater. On top of that, among modeled-Republican voters, Culberson’s weak personal brand leads him to underperform a generic-Republican by a full 11-percentage points.

The bad news does not stop there for John Culberson. TX-07’s makeup is more than 58% suburban, reflecting the kind of district that has shifted dramatically towards Democrats under Trump. That shift is evident in the more than 22-point swing at the Presidential level between 2012 and 2016, leading Hillary Clinton to win TX-07 by 1.4 points. Since 2016, the deeply unpopular, Washington Republican and Trump backed agenda on healthcare and taxes have made the President even more toxic, with the same DCCC poll showing Trump’s net-negative un-favorability to have grown to 7 points.

That’s a big problem for a Representative who is disliked and whose most distinguishing characteristics are his 94% Speaker Ryan and 98.5% Trump voting record. That problem is magnified by the fact he is running the race of his life against a well-respected Democratic candidate who is positioned from day one to connect with Democratic and Republican voters alike.