Energy policy is shaping some of the biggest debates in Texas’ statewide elections this year. But the race for the agency at the center of the state’s oil and gas industry remains largely under the radar.
The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s oldest regulatory agency, has primary jurisdiction over the oil and gas industry. Its responsibilities put the commission at the intersection of several issues dominating the campaign trail, from energy prices to the rapid expansion of data centers.
Oil prices, driven higher by the war in Iran, have added to concerns about the cost of living that are weighing on statewide races. Energy costs are also central to the debate over data center development, along with questions about water availability and noise.
Yet voters appear to know relatively little about the two major-party candidates seeking a seat on the commission.
Former Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Bo French, an investor, won the Republican nomination after defeating incumbent Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright in a primary runoff. State Rep. Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston), a former engineer who has served in the Texas House since 2019, is the Democratic nominee.
French holds a narrow three-point advantage over Rosenthal, according to a survey of likely voters conducted at the end of July by the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research Center at Texas Southern University. The poll found 44 percent of respondents supporting French and 41 percent backing Rosenthal.
That is the smallest Republican lead in the poll among statewide races in which the GOP candidate was ahead. Republican U.S. Senate nominee and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton trailed Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) by two points.
The Railroad Commission numbers also reveal considerable uncertainty within both parties.
Among self-identified Republicans, 11 percent said they were unsure which Railroad Commission candidate they would support — a larger share than for any other GOP statewide nominee included in the poll.
Rosenthal faces a similar problem on the Democratic side. Ten percent of self-identified Democrats said they were unsure which candidate they would support despite Rosenthal's years in elected office.
The uncertainty is even more pronounced among independents. Forty-three percent of self-identified independent voters said they were unsure about the Railroad Commission contest, tying for the highest level of uncertainty among any party group for any statewide candidate included in the survey.
Name recognition may help explain why.
Sixty-seven percent of likely voters surveyed said they did not know enough about French to form an opinion of him. For Rosenthal, the figure climbed to 83 percent.
The candidates are offering distinctly different approaches to the commission.
French has pledged to reduce regulations on oil and gas operators. His campaign has also emphasized cultural and social issues that extend beyond the commission’s traditional regulatory responsibilities. His campaign website calls for efforts to “Stop the Islamic Invasion of Texas,” “End DEI’s Stranglehold on Texas Oil,” and “Support Life and the Nuclear Family.”
Rosenthal has focused more heavily on utility costs and energy regulation. He proposes lowering gas utility rates for consumers through “price-smoothing standards” and requiring prudence reviews before customers are charged higher costs stemming from storms.
On oil and gas production, Rosenthal has called for ending natural gas flaring and finding new uses for existing wells, including converting them for geothermal energy.
Libertarian Arthur DiBianca is also running for the seat.
The contest leaves Texas voters with sharply different choices over an agency that plays an important role in the state’s economy and energy system. For now, however, the polling suggests one of the biggest challenges facing all of the candidates is considerably more basic: getting voters to know who they are.
