Texas Railroad Commission Race Is Tight in One Poll as Bo French's UT Post Draws GOP Rebuke

Early voting begins Monday, Oct. 19, in the race for one of three seats on the Texas Railroad Commission. The Republican nominee, Bo French, has spent the past month defending a social media post. The Democratic nominee, Jon Rosenthal, wants to talk about oil field safety.

The agency has nothing to do with railroads anymore. Its last rail duties were transferred out in 2005. Today it regulates oil and gas drilling, pipeline safety, natural gas utilities and certain mining operations, and it runs a budget of roughly half a billion dollars. Commissioners vote on drilling permits, approve pipeline construction, set penalties for violations and oversee disposal of industry wastewater.

Republicans have held all three seats since 1995. A Democrat has not been elected to the commission since the 1990s.

The post that changed the race

On Sept. 13, French posted a photograph of students of South Asian descent celebrating the University of Texas football victory over Ohio State. His caption said social media was revealing "how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners."

Sen. John Cornyn and other Republican officials joined Democrats in condemning it. Rep. Drew Darby, the Republican chairman of the House Energy Resources Committee, called it "racism, plain and simple" and urged French to apologize.

French did not back down. In a radio interview he said his concern was whether universities prioritize Americans over foreign students. He has not apologized.

This is not French's first fight with his own party. He chaired the Tarrant County Republican Party, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asked him to step down from that leadership role. French beat incumbent Commissioner Jim Wright in the Republican primary runoff.

Who the candidates are

French, 56, is a Midland native. His family owns French Oil, based in Midland.

Rosenthal is a Houston state representative and a mechanical engineer with more than two decades in the oil field. He argues technical expertise, not politics, should guide the agency. Libertarian Arthur DiBianca is also on the ballot.

Rosenthal's agenda is specific:

• Go after chronic polluters.
• Strengthen enforcement of natural gas weatherization requirements.
• Strengthen oversight of natural gas facilities for emergency preparedness.
• Create a fee on companies that store oil and gas wastewater underground, with the money going to plug abandoned wells.

What French is running on

French's platform is built on lower electricity and gas prices, further regulatory cuts, an end to what he describes as diversity-based contracting, a crackdown on foreign ownership of oil and gas wells, and anti-abortion policy.

His supporters have a straightforward argument: Texas energy regulation should favor producers and keep costs down, and foreign ownership of energy assets, particularly Chinese-owned land, is a legitimate national-security worry. Cutting DEI-style contracting is, in French's framing, about equal treatment.

The Texas Tribune reports that several of French's themes, including Chinese-owned land, immigration and LGBTQ+ issues, are matters over which the Railroad Commission has little, if any, authority. Foreign ownership of oil and gas wells is the closest fit to the agency's actual portfolio.

Polling and money

A Stratus Intelligence survey of 865 likely voters, conducted Sept. 22-24, put French ahead of Rosenthal 46% to 44%. The poll was sponsored by Texans for a Conservative Majority. The same survey showed Republicans leading the other statewide executive races it tested, and had Ken Paxton and James Talarico tied at 48% in the U.S. Senate race.

That is one poll, from a sponsor with an obvious rooting interest, taken days after a Marist survey of 1,139 registered voters (Sept. 17-20) showed Talarico up 50% to 44%. It is not a settled picture of the Railroad Commission race.

Money is another open question. The Tribune reports that campaign cash flowed in after the controversy, but that Rosenthal's campaign has struggled to match what previous Democratic candidates raised. Whether the viral moment turns into votes is, in the Tribune's words, unclear.

Debate and early voting

Rosenthal has said the candidates agreed to an Oct. 22 debate in Dallas, which would be the first announced debate between statewide candidates this cycle. French had not publicly confirmed his participation when that claim was made. French also declined an invitation from Texas Public Radio to join its call-in program, The Source, where Rosenthal appeared in a recorded interview Tuesday, Oct. 13. The station says its invitation to French remains open.

Early voting runs Oct. 19 through Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3.

Whether French shows up in Dallas on Oct. 22 will be the first test of whether voters hear the two candidates answer the same questions about drilling permits, wastewater and abandoned wells before they cast ballots.