Democratic candidates running in Texas House District 98 primary
Two Democrats are competing in the March 3 primary in Texas House District 98. The winner will advance to the November election and face off with one of these Republican candidates.
Here are the Democrats’ responses to the Star-Telegram’s candidate questionnaire, in the order they’ll appear on your ballot.
Cate Brennan
Age (as of March 3): 68
Campaign website: BrennanForHD98.com
Best way for voters to reach you: cate@brennanforhd98.com
Occupation: Retired
Education: Bachelor of Science (BS) in journalism with minors in political science and business, University of North Texas; Master of Business Administration (MBA), Texas Woman’s University
Have you run for elected office before? Precinct chair #3706 Tarrant County, 2023-24
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism in HD-98:
Opposition comments to Keller City Council on proclamation to “ban Sharia law” (January 2026)
Opposition comments to Grapevine City Council on code changes related to lawns and environment (October 2025)
Poll worker and alternate judge (2023-current)
Volunteer Deputy Registrar (2025-current)
Precinct chair/neighborhood leader #3706 (2023-current)
Chair of Community Outreach & VDR Committee, Tarrant County Democratic Party (2025-current)
Frequent block walker, phone bank, letter writer to federal/state/local representatives, local rallies (2022-current)
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? no
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? In the 1990s, my family and I were the plaintiffs in a medical malpractice lawsuit regarding the death of my mother.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Andrew Sternke, Keller resident
August Shilling, Euless resident
Jason Horowitz, significant other
Why are you seeking this office?
I am committed to fighting for our true Texas values of personal freedom, equality and opportunity, and respect for our diverse people, cultures and religions. I will work for progress, prosperity, transparency and a brighter future for everyone in HD98 and Texas. I am focused on creating sustainable, innovative and data-driven solutions and policies that will benefit future generations while addressing current economic and social challenges. I will lead the way for impactful political change in Austin and ensure the people’s voices are heard at every level. I believe HD98 is ready for a change and I intend to win.
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?
We must repeal the public-school voucher scam & fully fund our public schools. We must replace the current state funding method with a data-driven funding formula that is based on current budget parameters but also adapts to new sources of tax revenue, like legalized gambling and marijuana. To address affordability, Texas must raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour. A true living wage will help address our housing, health insurance, food and childcare affordability challenges. Living wages lead to local economic growth & relieves the tax burden on other Texas families. Low-wage jobs are creating a permanent underclass of families who deserve better. I would expand Medicaid to improve access to care, preventive care and reduce costly ED visits. I will fight for lower insurance premiums/drug costs, site-neutral payments & price transparency. Texas must consider temporarily subsidizing the cost of ACA premiums for low- and middle-income families & pressure feds to restore subsidies.
How will you measure your success as a member of the Texas House?
Repeal of school voucher scam; introduce and advance legislation to update the method of funding for public schools; introduce and advance legislation to expand Medicaid; introduce and advance legislation to legalize gambling and marijuana; reduce funding for Operation Lone Star and reallocate it to public schools, affordability issues and expanding Medicaid.
Why should voters choose you over your opponents?
I am highly experienced and an energetic fighter with integrity. I will fight for our true Texas values of personal freedom, equality and opportunity, and respect for our diverse people, cultures and religions. I am an experienced leader, successful business executive, healthcare advocate, precinct leader and lifelong Democrat. I was CEO of two and a senior executive with large nonprofit healthcare associations for 30 years. I worked on federal and state legislation, including Affordable Care Act (ACA), human trafficking, brain injury and heat illness prevention in sports, access to vaccinations and healthcare provider practice acts. A resident of North Texas since 1970, I graduated from Dallas public schools, hold a BS from UNT and an MBA from TWU. I am a 25-year Certified Association Executive (CAE), empathetic listener and energetic worker because of my broad life experiences. I’ve lived in Texas for 50+ years, now in Grapevine with my significant other.
As a state lawmaker, how would you interact and work with members of the opposite party? Are there specific policy ideas where you see opportunities for bipartisanship?
I am happy to work with Republicans who want to listen and compromise to ensure the best solutions for the people of HD98 and Texas. I will personally reach out to any legislator who is interested in my priorities and set individual meetings to discuss commonalities and compromise. I will join bipartisan policy and issues caucuses, including early childhood, public education, metal health and health care. While much depends on outcomes of the governor and lieutenant governor’s races, I believe bipartisanship could be reached with legislators from rural areas on school vouchers and public-school funding and with others on housing, health care, increasing minimum wage and gambling issues.
What is the biggest challenge facing HD-98? How would you address it if elected?
The most significant challenge in HD98 is delivering quality education for our public-school students. I will fight to repeal the school voucher scam & limit public funding of charter schools. I fight for students with disabilities to ensure their educational civil rights are protected. All ISDs in HD98 have decreasing enrollment rates & school vouchers will exacerbate the decrease in enrollment and state funding. Public school funding must be at least at 2025-2026 levels. Exclusionary Christian conservative culture wars have caused lower teacher retention/staff satisfaction & their ability to provide quality, evidence-based instruction. I will propose a new school funding method that is data-driven & can adapt to new tax revenue from legalized gambling and marijuana. I will propose legislation to reform how local school board candidates are funded by strictly limiting the dollar amount of contributions; this will return control of school boards to voters.
What, if anything, should the Texas Legislature do to address costs of living when they meet in 2027?
The best way to address the affordability issues is to increase the minimum wage to $20 per hour. Budget priorities should be childcare, housing & health care. Reducing childcare costs will increase discretionary spending and decrease other affordability issues. Texas should adopt something similar to New Mexico’s universal childcare program, funded by excess oil/gas taxes. Housing affordability can be improved through incentives to small local builders & lenders to increase the supply of starter homes. Corporations known to have manipulated rental prices & housing supply should be closely monitored. Regulating health insurance, drug prices, pharmacy benefit managers, hospitals & mandating site-neutral services will drive down costs. If the federal government doesn’t restore subsidies on ACA premiums, Texas may need to step in with rainy day funds. On groceries, close monitoring of corporate food monopolies for anti-trust is needed by the Legislature; action may be necessary.
Is eliminating school property taxes for homeowners achievable and something you’d support? Why or why not, and what plan do you propose to achieve their elimination or as an alternative?
Eliminating school property taxes for homeowners is not something I support nor is it achievable in the short term. Our public-school funding depends primarily on property taxes. While I would like to see reductions in residential property tax, reductions will only happen if this tax revenue is replaced by new taxes. This is why I am a proponent of legalizing gambling and marijuana. The tax revenue from these will be significant and may eventually replace residential—but not commercial—property taxes.
What steps, if any, should the state take to prepare for the rise of artificial intelligence?
Texas needs to establish regulations that go beyond the current ones that only focus on harmful uses of AI. Texas must establish multiple citizen/expert advisory councils to continuously monitor and advise legislators and agencies on best practices and potential harms and benefits to workers, tax revenue and the environment. Texas must invest heavily in workforce training and work with labor unions to mitigate negative effects on workers. The administration must promise to protect citizen privacy and security, and transparency in contracting with vendors. Texas must regulate and heavily monitor AI data centers to ensure they do not pollute the environment and divert water and energy without paying premiums for usage. Accountability is needed by all those involved in AI.
What, if anything, should the Texas Legislature do to ensure there’s an adequate supply of water and electricity in the state now and in the future?
AI and data centers use an enormous amount of water and energy. Robust legislative oversight of agencies is necessary, as is increased funding and staffing of pertinent regulatory agencies to ensure Prop. 4 is implemented appropriately. The Legislature must be a vigilant watchdog to ensure county, regional and commercial entities do not undermine Prop. 4 initiatives and safeguards. Fossil fuel gets the majority of funding in Texas and it’s past time for Texas to renew its commitment to renewable energy. This might someday include new nuclear energy, but careful study is needed before proceeding. For Texas to grow its economy and maintain high quality of life, it must protect its environment and natural resources and guard against pollution. I will fight any efforts that will undermine our water infrastructure, increase air and other pollution, wildfire and drought mitigation and similar issues.
What specific K-12 and higher education policies should state lawmakers prioritize in 2027?
I support increased funding of and free tuition to our community college systems for Texas residents. These schools offer economical associate/bachelor’s degrees and important technical certificates/credentials that support the high demand industries in Texas, including jobs in technology, health care, hospitality, paraprofessional and agriculture. I will fight for more Texas grants and student loan programs for low- and middle-income students to replace lost federal grant/loan programs. I support funding for free remedial coursework and “life skills” courses available to all young adults who may not be pursuing post-secondary degrees; these will support their upward mobility & productivity. I support free universal childcare, pre-K and kindergarten for all Texas children. HB8 in 2025 paved the way for high school students to be able to transfer dual credit to their college transcripts. This program should continue to be funded at robust levels.
What role should the state play in immigration and border security? What, if any, specific policies would you support as a state lawmaker?
Texas should play a limited role in immigration and board security because it is a federal responsibility. I will fight to greatly reduce funding for Operation Lone Star, which is currently costing $1 billion per month. Texas border security and immigration should only focus on protecting private and public property, human trafficking and drug trafficking.
What, if anything, should the Texas Legislature do in the way of hemp and marijuana policy?
I believe that Texas should comply with the new federal reclassification to make THC/hemp and marijuana a Schedule 1 drug in November 2026. This will increase tax revenue, which can be allocated to education, affordability and health priorities. It will also allow normal banking to occur and medically benefit veterans and other patients with chronic or terminal illnesses. Additionally, I believe Texas should leapfrog the issue altogether a legalize THC and marijuana for medicinal and recreational use. Legalizing marijuana will provide substantial new tax revenue that is needed to address the expansion of Medicaid, pay for universal childcare, fund public schools and address ongoing affordability issues. California’s cannabis tax revenue exceeded $500 million in the first half of 2025. The state has collected over $7.3 billion in total cannabis tax revenue since January 2018. In only its second year, New York collected an estimated $140 million in tax revenue from legalized marijuana.
Aaron Hendley
Did not respond.
