Erin Zwiener
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 45th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2019
Preceded byJason Isaac
Personal details
Born (1985-09-22) September 22, 1985
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceDriftwood, Texas
Alma mater
Websitehttps://www.erinforyall.com/

Erin Alisa Zwiener (born September 22, 1985) is an American author and politician who is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 45.

Biography

Zwiener grew up in Texas and currently lives in Hays County, Texas.[1] She graduated from the University of Montana with a bachelor's degree in forestry.[2] She then attended the University of Arizona for graduate school, earning an M.F.A in Creative Writing.[1] Zwiener lived in Abiquiú, New Mexico, and appeared on Jeopardy! four times in 2012, having won $53,399.[3] Zwiener wrote a children's book.[4] She moved to Driftwood, Texas, with her husband in 2016.[1][5]

Political career

After the 2016 United States elections, she became involved in the Indivisible movement, cofounding the chapter for Hays County, Texas.[6]

Texas House of Representatives

When Zwiener questioned Republican Jason Isaac, who represented her district in the Texas House of Representatives, about his support for Texas Senate Bill 4, which effectively banned sanctuary cities in Texas, over Facebook, Isaac accused her of "trolling" and blocked her.[4] She decided to run for his seat in the Texas House and declared her candidacy in March 2017 for the Texas House of Representatives elections, 2018 and received assistance from Run for Something.[4] Zwiener was pregnant during the campaign and gave birth in summer of 2018.[5] She finished in second place to Rebecca Bell-Metereau in the Democratic Party primary election, but advanced to a runoff election and won by less than 200 votes.[6][7] Zwiener went into labor at an anti-Donald Trump protest, and continued to campaign from the hospital before and after giving birth. She won in the general election, receiving 51 percent of the vote,[5] defeating Republican nominee Ken Strange, who polled 49 percent of the ballots cast. She succeeded Isaac in the state House; Isaac did not seek reelection to the House but ran unsuccessfully for his party's nomination in Texas's 21st congressional district.[8]

Zwiener is bisexual and is one of the founding members of the first LGBTQ Caucus in the Texas Legislature. She is one of the authors of HB 517 which would ban conversion therapy in Texas.[9][10][11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Why the Prospects for a Pink Tsunami Are Overblown in Texas Politics – Texas Monthly". texasmonthly.com. February 2, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  2. ↑ John Thomas (February 20, 2018). "Women make up majority of Texas House District 45 field". kxan.com. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Abiquiú woman banks $53K on Jeopardy!, plans to focus on writing". santafenewmexican.com. September 26, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Alter, Charlotte (January 18, 2018). "A Year Ago, They Marched. Now a Record Number of Women Are Running for Office". Time. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Kelly McLaughlin. "Midterms: Texas' Erin Zwiener wins after going into labor during campaign". Business Insider. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Hays County's Transformation Gives Democrats Hope in Hill Country House District". texasobserver.org. October 5, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  7. ↑ Julie Chang. "Erin Zwiener defeats Rebecca Bell-Metereau in House District 45 runoff". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  8. ↑ Julie Chang. "Erin Zwiener beats Ken Strange in Hays County's House District 45". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online – 86(R) History for HB 517". capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  10. ↑ "LGBTQ candidates running in record numbers in Texas this election cycle". The Texas Tribune. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Five women start Texas Legislature's first LGBTQ caucus". Dallas News. January 10, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
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