North Texas Sun sent questions to all candidates listed on the ballot in the Republican and Democratic primaries, which are being held on March 3. Early voting runs Feb. 17 through Feb. 27, including Sunday.

Check the Denton County Elections Administration website see who is on your ballot and where to vote on Election Day.

Name: Mitch Little (incumbent)

Age: 46

Occupation: Attorney

Website: http://www.mitchlittlefortexas.com

What made you want to run for office?

I wanted to use my knowledge and experience to ensure the district had true conservative representation and to improve the lives and liberty of the people who live here.

What experience do you bring to the office?

I have one legislative session under my belt, serving on the Criminal Jurisprudence and Transportation Committees in the House. I’m a business owner and have practiced law for 21 years here in North Texas. I passed my first bill in 2025, ending sovereign immunity in our school districts where their reckless conduct led to the sexual abuse of students by district employees.

If reelected, what legislation would you pursue that would directly impact your constituents?

I’m very eager to ensure the reform of the property tax system and to get control over excessive government spending at the state level. I’m also very passionate about higher education reform and getting corrosive ideologies like critical theory out of our state-funded colleges and universities. Aside from these things, I hope the State of Texas invests significantly in its road infrastructure and works hard to accommodate the growth of our population in District 65, so I will work to make that happen.

Is Gov. Abbott’s plan to eliminate school property taxes something you support? How do you think it will work?

The Governor has some great policy ideas. As I have said in speaking to many groups since last year, any efforts to meaningfully reduce property taxes have to address the three “levers” of property taxes: government spending, tax rates, and appraisals. Our state needs to be more conservative with regard to its budget so that more state money can be invested in property tax relief and buying down the school maintenance and operations rate. We also need to limit the ability of school districts and other governmental entities from borrowing to the degree that they have historically. Locally, we need to work to lower rates or replace that revenue with additional sales tax. Finally, we need to move toward periodic reappraisal to slow the growth of the property tax problem that we’re experiencing as a state, too. There’s a lot to unpack there.

What do you think is the biggest issue the state is facing?

In my view, the biggest issue the state is facing is no longer the border, but affordability at home. Property tax is only one component of that. Insurance rates are also climbing, as are the prices of just about everything. One of the things we need to do to combat these increases is to pull back heavily on government spending and activity that is inflationary. We need to stop growing government and stop letting government be a part of the affordability problem with excessive property taxes.

Democratic primary

Derrick Deburr did not return the questionnaire.