Voters in Texas' 21st Congressional District are poised to choose a new representative for the first time since 2018. Republican Mark Teixeira and Democrat Kristin Hook are vying to fill the seat soon to be vacated by Republican Rep. Chip Roy, who declined to run again in order to launch a failed bid for Texas attorney general.
TX-21 stretches from North San Antonio to Southwest Austin, and extends west to cover much of the Texas Hill Country. Teixeira has the edge in his campaign to represent the district, which has opted for Republicans in every congressional race since 1978.
Teixeira is a former Texas Rangers baseball player who emerged from a crowded Republican primary field this spring. In campaign materials, he describes himself as a "conservative fighter" who will "champion President Trump's America First agenda, advance conservative priorities, and work to keep Texas strong and free."
Teixeira's opponent is Kristin Hook, a scientist who has worked for the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
"As somebody who fought corruption in the federal government before and in the private sector, people are waking up and understanding that our taxpayer dollars don't belong in the pockets of politicians or their billionaire donors," Hook said. "They belong in our communities, and that's what I'm gonna fight for."
Both candidates were invited to be interviewed by KUT News. Teixeira did not respond to requests before publication time. Summaries of Hook's answers are included below.
How will you help address concerns about affordability and cost of living among your residents, including rising healthcare costs?
Hook said one of the most significant ways to reduce the cost of gas, groceries and household goods is to end the war in Iran.
"This is an unlawful war that only Congress should have initiated, and the current Congress is not doing its job in stopping a reckless president who has thrown us into a war that nobody asked for," Hook said. "Stopping the war will stop the bleeding from so many Texans' pocketbooks."
Hook also said "corporate greed" was driving up healthcare costs due to political lobbying by large insurance and pharmaceutical companies, and that Gov. Greg Abbott's refusal to expand Medicare to more poor Texans was ultimately costing taxpayers.
What policies do you support regarding the construction of data centers in your district?
Hook said she wants to put a stop to the construction of artificial intelligence data centers in TX-21.
"These data centers are guzzling water, they're stealing electricity, and they're going to be privatizing profits while publicizing costs," she said.
She believes that federal and state regulatory agencies, from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, have been weakened under Trump and Abbott's administrations, making it more difficult to rein in the development of data centers.
"TCEQ has been defanged and de-toothed by the Republicans who've been in charge of our state for 30 years," she said. "We deserve to have input in these centers. We deserve to put a stop to them, and we must do that if we're going to protect our public health and our precious water resources, especially here in the Hill Country."
How would you ensure that your district continues to have dependable access to water?
Hook said that state and local policies are more influential on water access in Central Texas — but that she would work closely with partners at those levels to secure funding for infrastructure projects and support policies that acknowledge the effects of climate change.
"What we need are investments in infrastructure projects that are going to allow us to be more resilient, to actually make sure that water is going into our aquifer, make sure that we have the infrastructure that isn't allowing our water resources to be leaking out of aging piping," she said.
Many residents in your district are recovering from the effects of flooding this summer. What will you do to ensure that they have access to resources to both prepare for and recover from future natural disasters?
TX-21 is home to some of the hardest-hit areas from the July floods of 2025 and 2026, including Kerrville. Hook said she has encountered residents who have not received assistance this year and are struggling — including some who live outside of an official floodplain.
"Our floodplain maps for the country are not up to date," she said. "They do not rely on the best available science, and they're not designed to address the issues of climate change and rapidly changing environment that we're living in."
Hook said she would push for updates to those maps at the federal level to expand access to flood insurance and relief from FEMA.
What is your stance on the current administration's immigration policies and enforcement practices?
Hook said she is "strongly against" the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies. Though she sees some value in "some of the functions" of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, she said she feels ICE has been weaponized against U.S. citizens and used to racially profile Hispanic people.
"We can have border security without ripping people out of their homes, without taking people out of their jobs, without stealing people from their communities and tearing families and communities apart," she said.
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