Jim Wright and Bo French will be going head-to-head in May to win the Republican nomination for the railroad commissioner seat.
Neither candidate scored a simple majority vote in the Republican primary election. Incumbent Jim Wright and Bo French scored roughly 35 percent and 31 percent of the vote, respectively, as of publication.
The Railroad Commission of Texas was established in 1891 in response to discriminatory railroad charges, keeping the common carriers of the railroad industry in check. After World War I, the agency began to transition into a state agency with oil and gas oversight through the Petroleum Pipeline Law in 1917.
According to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, the Texas Railroad Commission was given the responsibility of ensuring that petroleum pipelines were open to everyone’s oil and gas, similar to its oversight of railroads.
The last of the Texas Railroad Commission’s oversight of railroads was transferred to the Texas Department of Transportation in 2005.
Today, the Railroad Commission of Texas is the state agency with primary regulatory jurisdiction and enforcement duties over the oil and natural gas industry, responsible for both state and federal compliance.
The three elected commissioners serve 6-year terms, and the chairman is selected by the commissioners themselves. Incumbent Jim Wright currently holds the chairman position.
Wright’s campaign currently emphasizes streamlining permits and cutting red tape, plugging orphaned wells and protecting landowners, building out energy infrastructure and export capacity, and embracing emerging technologies.
According to Transparency USA, his campaign currently has $128,884 of cash on hand and nearly $1.2 million in campaign contributions.
Bo French’s campaign currently emphasizes ending DEI, ending overbearing regulation, and ending the influence of radical Islam and the CCP in Texas oil.
According to Transparency USA, his campaign currently has $179,666 of cash on hand and $636,863 in campaign contributions.
First day of early voting for the runoff election will begin on Monday, May 18, 2026. Election Day for the primary runoff will take place on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
The winner will face Democrat Jon Rosenthal in November.
First day of early voting for the General Election will begin on Monday, October 19, 2026. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
