On May 26, Republican voters will choose their nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission in a runoff election between former Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French and incumbent Jim Wright.
The overview
The Republican railroad commission race is one of several statewide contests that advanced to May runoffs after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the March 3 primary election.
Wright and French were the two highest-performing candidates in the five-way primary race. Wright narrowly led the pack with 32.1% of the vote, while French received 31.7% of the vote.
The winner of the May 26 overtime round will face state Rep. John Rosenthal, a Houston Democrat who ran unopposed in the primary, in the November midterm election. Third-party candidates may also appear on the November ballot.
The Texas Railroad Commission regulates Texas’ oil and gas industry, according to its website, while the state's railroads are under the control of the Texas Department of Transportation and the federal government. The agency has three commissioners, who are elected to staggered six-year terms.
Preparing for the polls
Texans can vote early in the runoff election from May 18-22. Runoff elections, like primaries, are separated by political party, meaning Texans who voted in one party's primary this March may only vote in the same party's runoff. Individuals who did not participate in the March primaries or a third-party nominating convention can vote in either party’s runoff this May.
Runoff election day is May 26. For more information about the state and local races on your runoff ballot, visit communityimpact.com/election.
What you need to know
The original version of this election questionnaire was published Jan. 16, ahead of the March 3 primary election. Community Impact is republishing Q&As for five statewide runoff races, with the goal of providing a side-by-side, equitable resource for Texas voters to review candidates' perspectives as they prepare to head to the polls this month.
This Q&A was updated to remove Katherine Culbert, Hawk Dunlap and James "Jim" Matlock, three Republican candidates who did not advance to the May 26 runoff. Candidates' answers were not changed from the originally published article.
Candidates were asked to keep responses under 50 words, answer the questions provided and avoid attacking opponents. Answers may have been minimally edited or cut to adhere to those guidelines, or for style and clarity.
* indicates incumbent candidate
