Steven Shook, a Democrat and nurse practitioner, is running for Texas’s 26th Congressional District in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. The Texas secretary of state’s certified ballot also lists Republican incumbent Brandon Gill and Libertarian Phil Gray.
Asked why he is seeking office, Shook said in the Flower Mound Times candidate questionnaire: “I believe public service should be about solving problems and improving people's lives. For nearly two decades, I have worked in critical care, where decisions have real consequences and where teamwork, accountability, and compassion are essential.”
Candidate information
Party: “Democratic Party.”
Education: “I attended Tarrant County College, earned my bachelor's degree from Texas Tech University, graduating summa cum laude, and completed my Master's degree at the University of Texas at Arlington.”
Credentials: His campaign website lists MSN, RN and AGACNP-BC, identifying him as a board-certified adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner.
Family: “I come from a family rooted in healthcare and service. My mother and brother are nurses, and my wife is a respiratory therapist. My wife and I are raising our daughter here in North Texas.”
Previous elected or appointed office: None listed in the supplied questionnaire material.
Experience and public service
Shook described himself in the questionnaire as “a nurse practitioner specializing in pulmonary and critical care” who has “spent approximately 17 years caring for critically ill patients in North Texas.”
His employer biography at the Lung and Sleep Center of North Texas says he began caring for critically ill and injured patients in 2009. He worked in trauma surgical intensive care units during his first 10 years before joining the practice’s inpatient critical-care team in 2019.
Asked about his qualifications, Shook said: “I began my career as a registered nurse, continued my education while working, graduated summa cum laude from Texas Tech University, and became a nurse practitioner specializing in pulmonary and critical care. I have also participated in humanitarian medical work abroad in East Africa, providing care to communities with limited resources.”
On the issues
Healthcare: Asked about his top priority, Shook said: “Too many people are paying high premiums, deductibles, hospital bills, and prescription costs even when they have insurance.”
He said he supports “expanding prescription-drug negotiation, cracking down on abusive PBM practices, limiting surprise and facility-based charges, strengthening competition in healthcare markets, and protecting access to affordable insurance coverage.”
PBM stands for pharmacy benefit manager.
Affordability: Shook said: “Congress should focus on the costs families feel every month: housing, groceries, utilities, healthcare, and transportation.”
He supports “policies that increase housing supply, expand incentives for affordable and workforce housing, and help first-time homebuyers.”
He added: “I support targeted middle-class tax relief and oppose broad tariffs that raise prices on everyday goods.”
Federal spending and debt: Shook supports “stronger audits of federal programs, eliminating duplicative spending, reducing improper payments and fraud, and reviewing ineffective tax breaks and subsidies.”
He said: “I would protect Social Security and Medicare rather than balancing the budget on seniors or working families … Debt reduction will require both spending discipline and adequate revenue.”
Immigration: Shook said: “Congress should secure the border while creating an immigration system that is orderly, efficient, and consistent with due process.”
He said he supports the bipartisan Dignity Act and opposes “indiscriminate mass-deportation policies.”
Energy and environment: Shook supports “an energy policy built around reliability, affordability, and long-term sustainability.”
He said he favors “expanding transmission capacity, modernizing the grid, improving energy storage, and streamlining permitting for responsible energy infrastructure” and “continued investment in a diverse energy mix, including natural gas, nuclear, wind, solar, and emerging technologies.”
National security: Shook said “the United States should not remain in an open-ended war with Iran without explicit congressional authorization.”
He supports “strong defense funding, but also rigorous audits, procurement reform, and eliminating waste.”
Candidate responses were collected through a Flower Mound Times questionnaire. Quotations have been excerpted for length without changing the candidate’s wording. Biographical claims and policy positions are attributed to Shook unless otherwise noted.
