Republican Hardliner Beats Incumbent Texas Oil Regulator in Runoff Vote

Republican hardliner Bo French defeated incumbent Texas Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright in a runoff election for the GOP nomination to sit on the Lone Star State’s chief oil regulator.

Voters in Texas backed French, a former Carlson Capital equity trader who campaigned on conservative cultural issues, by 50.6% to 49.4% in the Tuesday contest. French will now face Democrat Jon Rosenthal and Libertarian Arthur DiBianca in the November general election.

The Railroad Commission oversees the oil and natural gas industry in the nation’s biggest producing state. Decisions by the three-member panel impact everything from shale growth to methane regulation and toxic water disposal across the Permian Basin and other major fields.

French’s backers included conservative billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks. Wright has been on the commission since 2021, rising to chairman last year. All three sitting commissioners are Republicans.