H. Denise Wooten

H. Denise Wooten was born in Independence, Missouri. She earned a bachelor's degree from William Jewell College in 1982 and a Psy.D. degree from Baylor University in 1989. Her career experience includes working as a psychologist, specializing in developmental disorders, and as an adjunct professor in psychology at North Central Texas Community College.[1][2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Denise Wooten is a mother, a grandmother, and a respected psychologist. She grew up in a working-class family, the daughter of a preacher who taught her important values like a strong work ethic, sense of community responsibility, charitability, fiscal conservatism, patriotism, and embracing the rights and values of everyone within our community. She knows the importance of protecting and funding public education, expanding medical and mental healthcare access, and reducing the property tax burden on the middle class. She wants to get rid of gerrymandering, promote individual rights, including a woman’s right to make reproductive choices for herself, introduce sensible gun safety measures, work to make air and water safe for our kids and grandkids, and end the corrupt tax breaks for billionaire campaign donors that impose costs on everyday Texans.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Fully funded public education, K-12 and training certification or an Associate's Degree at a community or state college, should be guaranteed. Public education is the great equalizer of opportunity, which benefits people and the economy, so it should be a strong priority.Affordable and accessible healthcare, both medical and mental health, should be a right and not just a privilege for the affluent. There is a shortage of qualified healthcare professionals, especially in the mental health field. We should implement regulations on the price-gouging of insurance companies, offer subsidies to purchase health insurance, fix the Medicaid and public health care systems, and have incentives to train and retain healthcare providers.Affordability of essentials, including housing, healthcare, groceries, gasoline, household utilities, and childcare is a disaster for the majority of Texans. Failed and self-indulgent policies of the Republican leaders in state and federal government have created these disastrous cost of living hikes. Necessities for living cannot be left unregulated, as we have all seen how corporate greed and corrupt politicians operate to the benefit of the few and not for the rest of us.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Any public policy that directly impacts people's lives and well-being is of concern to me. My entire career is based on serving others instead of myself, which should be the fiduciary and ethical obligation of all law-makers.

Note: Wooten submitted the above survey responses to [the profile publisher] on August 27, 2026.

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January 19 submission

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Licensed Clinical Psychologist for 35 years specializing in Autism Spectrum and ADHD

Adjunct Professor of Psychology at local community college 7 years

Member of Leadership Team of Flower Mound Area Democrats

Precinct Chair until filed to run for office

Member of the Texas Psychological Association Legislative Team

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

The first priority is to improve funding for public education and educator/retention, from pre-kindergarten through community college. Education is the great equalizer of opportunity for all Texans. This helps the overall economy by having workers with greater skills who can be more productive and have enough money to spend. In addition to increasing funding to fair levels that keep up with inflation and allowing autonomy in spending to local school districts, immediate repeal of the ESA (vouchers) bill for payment to private schools should be instituted. This will allocate up to a billion dollars of our public money back to public schools.We need to increase the affordability of mental and medical healthcare for all Texans. Additionally, there is a shortage of providers, especially mental health professionals and especially in rural areas. Texas has a great economy with the second largest GDP, but the money does not go to help people with the necessities of life. We need to draft a state version of the Affordable Care Act to provide subsidies, fix Medicaid so it will have providers, reinstate funds to Planned Parenthood, and use greater incentives for training mental health and medical personnel who stay in Texas to practice.We must draft legislation that benefits the vulnerable, while repealing laws that actually harm these populations. Vulnerable groups include minorities, impoverished, disabled, the elderly, children, and members who are LGBTQ+. Women of reproductive age are also vulnerable, such that we need to restore reproductive rights to give the power of choice to women and their physicians.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As a clinical psychologist who works with individuals with Autism Spectrum and other developmental disorders, my advocacy has reached beyond the office and into schools, medical practices, colleges, and services for those with disabilities. That is why I am extremely passionate about public education, mental healthcare, and ethical responsibility to vulnerable and marginalized populations.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Annie's List, Flower Mound Area Democrats, Save Our Public Schools as of January 2026. Other endorsements are pending.

H. Denise Wooten did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Having served for over 30 years as a licensed clinical psychologist, and for almost 5 years as an adjunct community college professor, I have been in the trenches with people struggling with health, education, economic disadvantage, and disabilities. In Texas, human services of all kinds are woefully underfunded and understaffed, thereby leaving many people unaided or without equitable opportunity. In fact, Texas is 45th out of 50 states in per capita expenditure for human services (health, education, welfare, and civic infrastructure), while Texas is 2nd highest in Gross Domestic Product. We have a wealthy state that is spending meager amounts on less resourced people, while the rich get richer. Due to my ethical belief that all people deserve quality health care, for years I operated a sliding fee scale and took multiple insurances at a decreased fee. Teaching at a community college has to be for the love of psychology and students, as it certainly does not recompense well, but these students deserve professors who care.

Personally, I am married with two daughters who are themselves married. One daughter is a special education teacher in the public school system, while the other is a ballroom dance instructor who loves Fine Arts. My husband works with small-business owners and individuals as a CPA.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Human services are underfunded, leading to gaps in care and opportunity for less advantaged people. This is true in education and health.Medical policy decisions should not be made by untrained politicians. Reproductive rights, transgender rights, pandemic response, and other health decisions should be made in tandem with qualified professionals.Bipartisanship on behalf of people should be attainable, if the focus is on helping those who cannot help themselves and equipping those who can benefit to become productive contributors to the economy and society.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Funding for education and special education, Social Security Disability Income, Medicare and Medicaid, Disability Services post high school, Child Protective Services, employment and training opportunities in school and post high school, Early Childhood Development programs, and medical response to adverse health events (such as the pandemic).

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Abraham Lincoln has always been a favorite, as he did what was right even when it was unpopular with many--that is moral courage and integrity. Also, I must share my enthusiasm for Jane Austen, as she had a wry and dry take on human nature that is very appealing to me.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity in trying to ascertain the best course of action to benefit the most people, especially the less resourced, is vital to the job of governing on behalf of the people. Integrity is made of of ethics and morality, rational reasoning, use of science and medical knowledge, and hearing from people themselves about their concerns in their everyday lives.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Several of the most important qualities I bring to any of my endeavors are a firm commitment to justice and fairness, willingness to listen to alternative perspectives and experts, dedication to the well-being of others, ability to admit when I am wrong and grow from feedback, intellectual search for accurate information before committing to opinions or decisions, and making my career choices based on how I can benefit others instead of monetary value.

What legacy would you like to leave?

My legacy, whether elected or not, is that I want people to be better off than before after I had the opportunity to touch their lives.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr--found out about it in 7th grade history class when I was 12 years of age by watching a reel-to-reel film of his life, with a special emphasis on his "I Have a Dream" speech.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was waitressing, beginning at age 15 years and continuing at various restaurants until I finished putting myself through college.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen has long been my favorite book, as Jane Austen uses delicious verbiage and irony to roast people or show them in their foibles.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

The latest song from my favorite acapella group, Home Free, always gets stuck in my head, because I repeat the song so much. That means, at this moment, their cover of "Amazed" that was just released has been reverberating in my mind.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Growing up in a family with limited means required much hard work as a member of the family (including a half-acre garden on which we depended for sustenance), along with working multiple jobs to put myself through college.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Ideally, the governor and the state legislature should take care of the responsibilities of their branch, instead of limiting or handicapping each other.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Of course, in line with my passion about people's needs, Texas needs to beef up the funding and resources for human services, especially health and education.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

No, it is not necessary for state legislators to have experience in politics. Political experience is no substitute for life experience and expertise.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Absolutely it is beneficial to build relationships with other legislators, especially if the others also sought the office in order to benefit people and not themselves.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Bipartisan committees in every state should do the redistricting, because each party takes advantage of their control to redistrict in their favor unless it is bipartisan.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Health and education committees are those in which I am qualified to consult as a specialist due to my profession.

Tell us your favorite joke.

This is not a joke from a comedian, but rather represents the accidental jokes my clients with Autism make when they are being literal, but if someone said it on purpose, it would be dry humor. One of my favorite such sayings came after a boy asked me why I purchased a Hot Wheels toilet car. When I said, "It caught my eye in the store," he responded in all seriousness, "Did that hurt when it caught your eye?"

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

When there are solid Democratic and Republican platforms (unlike the last 5 years or so), compromise between positions is how to achieve solutions. Partisanship results in little being accomplished on behalf of the people.