Elizabeth Hernandez (Texas)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Elizabeth Hernandez

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Dallas, Texas

Religion

Christian

Profession

Accounting

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Elizabeth Hernandez (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 8th Congressional District. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Hernandez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Elizabeth Hernandez was born in Dallas, Texas. Hernandez has attended Sam Houston State University, the University of Texas at Arlington, and San Jacinto College. Her professional experience includes working in accounting. Hernandez has served as a student affiliate member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts and as a member of the IOTA Chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon International Honor Society in Economics.

Elections

2020

See also: Texas' 8th Congressional District election, 2020

Texas' 8th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

Texas' 8th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 8

Incumbent Kevin Brady defeated Elizabeth Hernandez and Chris Duncan in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 8 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Brady (R)	72.5	277,327
		Elizabeth Hernandez (D)	25.5	97,409
		Chris Duncan (L)	2.0	7,735

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 382,471
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 8

Elizabeth Hernandez defeated Laura Jones in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 8 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Elizabeth Hernandez	59.8	18,660
		Laura Jones	40.2	12,519

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,179
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jacob Osborne (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 8

Incumbent Kevin Brady defeated Kirk Osborn and Melissa Esparza-Mathis in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 8 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Brady	80.7	75,044
		Kirk Osborn	16.2	15,048
	Submit photo	Melissa Esparza-Mathis	3.1	2,860

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 92,952
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 8

Chris Duncan advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 8 on March 21, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Chris Duncan (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Elizabeth Hernandez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hernandez's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Every American deserves an opportunity to succeed, regardless of socio-economic status. But that is not happening-and we know it. The quality of public education gets lower. Healthcare is gets more expensive. Social Security is being threatened. Yet Republicans have cut revenues in order to put more money in the pockets of the wealthy, and then plead poverty to justify cuts in funding for schools, healthcare, the EPA, etc.

The working class in America are being left behind. But rather than address it, we ignore it. That's not the American way. Our country was founded on the premise that all Americans are created equal. And all should be given an opportunity to succeed. We must honor that principle. I am running for Congress to do just that.

I have my 3 children, ages 5, 11 and 14. My background is in accounting. I have worked in several companies, from large corporations, to small businesses over the last 20 years. I am also finishing my Accounting degree from Sam Houston State University, which I will receive in July 2020. We have a lot of issues facing the country, and I have many ideas to address them. But there seems to be a commonality with all of these ideas: How do we pay for them? We are currently $23 trillion in debt, with the interest alone costing us nearly $500 billion each year. With only 11 members of Congress with Accounting experience, we need more. So I want to join them to address our fiscal issues, freeing up resources to implement my other ideas.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I will use my Accounting experience to balance the budget, tackle the debt, and fund improvements to public education, expanding Medicare and protecting Social Security. In doing so, I will level the playing field for all Americans, giving everyone an opportunity to succeed.
• I will strengthen our civil rights laws by empowering the EEOC, and reforming the damage provisions of the civil rights statutes to eliminate the caps on emotional distress/punitive damages in order to fully compensate discrimination victims and actually deter employers from discriminating.
• I will help to protect the environment. We must fully fund the EPA with adequate investigators, and lead the globe in developing efficient and affordable renewable sources of energy.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The $23 trillion national debt (and $1 trillion annual deficits). The flawed rationale behind the GOP tax cuts that primarily benefitted the wealthy must be exposed. I also want to expand Medicare for all, protect Social Security, preserve and improving public schools with funding for more teachers, lowering the student-teacher ratios and placing more counselors in the schools to help detect and treat any emotional issues from which our children may be suffering. Finally, we must strengthen our civil rights laws. It is ridiculous that many civil rights statutes do not provide for emotional distress and/or punitive damages, and when they do, they are capped at $300,000, which is nothing to a large publicly traded corporation. Thus, because there is no deterrent, the discriminatory behavior persists. We must also empower the EEOC and place it on the same level as OSHA, allowing it to truly address discriminatory practices. Addressing and improving upon these areas will help close the gap in wealth inequality and give every American an opportunity to succeed.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Ann Richards. She understood the need for effective leaders and did not let her being a female hold her back from running for office when she knew she was a quality candidate. Rather, she embraced it and used it to her advantage to effectively lead.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Inequality for All. Robert Reich.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Judgment. Some decisions may be difficult, but we must have leaders who are good decision makers and who also have the courage to make the right decisions.

Honesty. We must have our representatives being truthful with us about the state of things, about their solutions, and the progress they are making. leaders who are going to honestly and ethically make decisions which are in the best interest of the country.

Strong work ethic. There are a lot of issues to address, and it's going to take a lot of work to solve them. We need leaders who are willing to put in the work, come up with creative solutions, and advocate for them in Congress.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

First, I have an Accounting Background. There are only 11 Accountants in Congress, so Congress could benefit from additional accounting experience to help solve our fiscal issues. I'm also honest, extremely hard working, and will be very transparent, keeping the voters informed on my efforts to address the issues facing our Country.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Thinking about creative solutions to address our issues, being a hard worker to formulate the solutions, research suggested solutions from others, and advocate for what you believe is the correct path to pursue.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I considered and addressed the issues facing America, I formulated solutions to the issues, and worked with Congress to implement the solutions, which helped to resolve the problems our Country is facing.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The election of Bill Clinton. I was 9 years old at the time. I remember the energy and hope that he brought to the Country at a time when morale was low.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was a ticket cashier at a local theatre. I started the job when I was 16 years old and I held it until I graduated from High School, at which time I got my first full-time job keeping the books for a locally owned business.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Hunger Games series. They have interesting plots with multiple twists that kept me engaged. The writing is tight and the characters were interesting, unique and had notable depth.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

June Osborne from The Handmaid's Tale. She was brave and resilient in the face of unimaginable adversity.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

The Best Day of My Life. American Authors.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Raising a family, going to school and working while having a husband who was out of work for an extended time.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The power to impeach a federal official and send him or her to the Senate for trial and holding the power to authorize spending.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I don't believe it's beneficial. As long as one is a hard worker, and has a good staff, the job can be done with or without previous experience.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

1) Transitioning to renewable energy within the time required to protect the environment; 2) maintaining acceptable employment levels in the face of rapidly accelerating automation of jobs; and 3) tackling our annual deficits while funding our necessary programs and gradually working to bring down our national debt.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

The House Ways and Means Committee and the House Judiciary Committee.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes. I believe that two years is sufficient time to demonstrate your abilities to address the needs of America for the voters to consider upon time for re-election.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I do not believe we need constitutional term limits for Representatives or Senators. We should not force leaders out if they are doing a good job. And if a Representative or Senator is not doing a good job, the electoral process should get them out at the ballot box.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

I would like to take the lead in re-forming the Congressional CPA and Accountants Caucus, which was last approved in 2013 before disbanding.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Having graduated from Sam Rayburn High School, I learned quite a bit about his legacy. I would hope to emulate his negotiating and diplomatic skills in getting thing done in Congress.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

One of the more memorable stories was from a family with both parents working but still struggling to pay the rent, put food on the table and still provide ample supplies and clothing for their children. Their story was memorable because it reinforced how many loving parents there are who desire to raise and guide their kids, helping with their education yet struggled to spend sufficient time with them and build quality relationships given the lack of available time.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Coronavirus Weekly Updates Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

Texas' current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Cornyn (R)

Ted Cruz (R)

Representatives

District 1

Nathaniel Moran (R)

District 2

Daniel Crenshaw (R)

District 3

Keith Self (R)

District 4

Pat Fallon (R)

District 5

Lance Gooden (R)

District 6

Jake Ellzey (R)

District 7

Lizzie Fletcher (D)

District 8

Morgan Luttrell (R)

District 9

Al Green (D)

District 10

Michael McCaul (R)

District 11

August Pfluger (R)

District 12

Craig Goldman (R)

District 13

Ronny Jackson (R)

District 14

Randy Weber (R)

District 15

Monica De La Cruz (R)

District 16

Veronica Escobar (D)

District 17

Pete Sessions (R)

District 18

Vacant

District 19

Jodey Arrington (R)

District 20

Joaquin Castro (D)

District 21

Chip Roy (R)

District 22

Troy Nehls (R)

District 23

Tony Gonzales (R)

District 24

Beth Van Duyne (R)

District 25

Roger Williams (R)

District 26

Brandon Gill (R)

District 27

Michael Cloud (R)

District 28

Henry Cuellar (D)

District 29

Sylvia Garcia (D)

District 30

Jasmine Crockett (D)

District 31

John Carter (R)

District 32

Julie Johnson (D)

District 33

Marc Veasey (D)

District 34

Vicente Gonzalez (D)

District 35

Greg Casar (D)

District 36

Brian Babin (R)

District 37

Lloyd Doggett (D)

District 38

Wesley Hunt (R)

Republican Party (27)

Democratic Party (12)

Vacancies (1)