Meet Lillie

Hi! I’m Lillie, a 7th-generation Texan and native Houstonian, who is proud to call Texas my home.

I was born a Democrat, and I’ll die a Democrat. It’s in my DNA. At the age when most kids are playing sports and doing normal kid activities, I was out greeting voters at poll sites. My grandmother, Ann, served as the Hood County Tax Assessor, and I remember marching in the 4th of July parade hollering, “Vote for Annie, she’s our grannie!”

By middle school, I was knocking doors, hammering stakes onto signs, and hitting the phones to help my mom get elected to the State House, where she flipped a swing district now represented by Ann Johnson. In high school, I spent countless hours at the Democratic Party office when my mom was the party chair. The party became a second home.

But while I grew up surrounded by politics, I learned firsthand why this work matters. When I first went to college, I dropped out and had to work two minimum-wage jobs to support myself—one in the mornings and another overnight. These experiences shaped my understanding of the importance of economic security and a living wage, the importance of access to education, and the harsh reality of working without healthcare.

These are the causes I’ve fought for my entire career—the issues that really matter to working people. I’ve spent my life fighting to elect Democrats at every level so that we can tackle these issues and help people live lives of dignity, no matter who they are or where they come from.

In 2009, I founded my firm, Bayou City Strategies, where we help candidates and organizations build effective fundraising and organizing strategies.

I will never forget what I felt like when we lost the presidential election in 2016. I wanted to fight back against Trump and make sure Republicans never won Harris County again. So I ran for Harris County Democratic Party Chair, won, and helmed our efforts for the 2018 and 2020 cycles.

Together, we raised over $5.5 million, engaged a record number of grassroots volunteers, revamped our party organization, and found creative ways to reach voters where they are. We flipped seats, and in both 2018 and 2020, we swept Harris County, delivering a historic election result that flipped former Republican strongholds and swung control of the local commissioners court to Democrats for the first time in decades.

Now, I want to bring that same energy, vision, and drive to the Texas Democratic Party.

Leading a state party is a serious job. It requires someone who’s unafraid to be brutally honest about where we are, to listen and assess what needs to change, and then to do the hard work necessary to win again.

We need someone with a proven track record of building broad, diverse coalitions that put Democrats in office.

I’m ready to lead and put in the hard work it takes to move our party forward. Together, with a clear vision and the right strategy, we can accomplish anything.

Thank you for your time, your trust, and your commitment to a more Democratic future.

Sign up below to join Team Texas today and be a part of the campaign to reconnect our party with the millions of people whose lives are better because of our democratic policies.