Caitlin Rourk

Rourk was raised by public school teachers, and both of her grandfathers served in World War II, according to her campaign website.[3] She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.[3][5] She earned a commission as a Military Intelligence Officer through the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School and served full time in the Texas Army National Guard at Joint Forces Headquarters in Austin, where, her website says, she supported responses to natural disasters, COVID-19, civil unrest operations and border mobilizations.[3][5] She also served in the U.S. Army Reserve.[3][5]

Rourk's early career involved working across party lines on policy issues ranging from energy security to deficit reduction, according to her website, and KBTX reported that she has worked in policy in Washington, D.C.[3][5][6] Her most recent private-sector job was leading communications at Dell Technologies.[3][5]

Rourk has not previously held elected office. She won the Democratic nomination outright in the March 3, 2026 primary, with 60.84 percent of the vote, according to The Texan.[5][7] She has lived, worked and served in Central Texas for more than a decade, and she lives in the district with her husband, a volunteer EMT and medic who served in the Texas State Guard, and their two young children, according to her campaign website.[3] She received 46.2% of the vote to Chris Gober's 53.8%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]