A Democratic challenger is squaring off against a congressman who served as Collin County judge from 2007 to 2018 as North Texas grapples with rapid growth and questions about infrastructure and data center development. Keith Self, the incumbent Republican, and Evan Hunt, his Democratic challenger, are competing for the Texas 3rd Congressional District seat in the Nov. 3 election, with rising costs, infrastructure strain and the region's data center boom featuring in the campaign.
The contrast starts with biography. According to the Herald-Banner, Self served as Collin County judge from 2007 to 2018 and holds degrees from the U.S. Military Academy and the University of Southern California. Hunt is the Democratic candidate running to represent the district, with a campaign centered on health care costs, immigration reform and public school advocacy, as NewsNation reports.
Self's legislative priorities and military background are part of his record. He opposed a $1.2 trillion omnibus, the paper reports. He has cited inflation falling from 9% to 3%, the paper reports.
Growth Pressures Collide With Washington Priorities
Hunt's pitch to voters leans hard on the strain of rapid population growth across North Texas. He argues that Washington needs to do more to address rising costs and the pressure that rapid community growth is putting on the region, according to the Herald-Banner's report. He says families are struggling with housing, health care and education costs, and he's calling for steps to make those expenses more manageable, while also arguing that roads, schools and other public services are struggling to keep pace with the population influx.
Those complaints track with regional data. North Central Texas added 203,786 residents in 2025, pushing the region's total population to 8,952,590 as of Jan. 1, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Collin County led every county in the region in growth, adding 64,703 residents in 2025 alone, and the region added 42,582 multifamily housing units and 42,445 single-family homes to try to keep up. The council said the sustained growth continues to shape nearly every aspect of life in the region, from housing and transportation to infrastructure and public services.
Hunt supports federal investment in schools, health care, transportation and infrastructure.
Data Centers Draw Candidate Attention
Data centers are multiplying across North Texas alongside the housing boom. Hunt has raised concerns about data centers' use of local water and power.
The stakes behind that disagreement are substantial. At least 248 planned data centers are coming to Texas, including 86 in North Texas, according to the Texas Tribune. Ninety percent of the electricity demand represented by recent large-user interconnection requests was for data centers, most aiming to begin operating by 2030, the Tribune reported. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that data centers could account for 3% to 9% of the state's water use by 2040, up from less than 1% currently.
Technology and Surveillance
Hunt has raised concerns about artificial intelligence and surveillance.
