The big picture
Katherine Culbert, Hawk Dunlap, Bo French, James "Jim" Matlock and Jim Wright are vying for the Republican nomination for a seat on the railroad commission. The winning Republican candidate will face Democrat Jon Rosenthal in November, and the winner of that election will begin serving on the commission in January 2027.
Rosenthal, a state representative and oilfield mechanical engineer, is running uncontested in the Democratic primary. Community Impact runs candidate Q&As for contested races only.
Did you know?
The 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. Railroad commissioners are elected to staggered six-year terms.
Preparing for the polls
Early voting begins Feb. 17 for March 3 primary races across Texas, including 18 statewide races and various local races. Registered voters may cast ballots in either Texas’ Republican or Democratic primary, but not both. Third-party candidates will appear on the ballot in November.
For more election coverage, visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide.
What you need to know
Community Impact gave all candidates running for contested statewide offices more than three weeks to complete the primary election questionnaire and communicated with their campaigns periodically. Community Impact's goal with election Q&As is to provide a side-by-side, equitable resource for Texas voters to review candidates' perspectives as they prepare to head to the polls.
To ensure that candidates are the ones defining their positions in Community Impact's voter guide, if candidates did not complete the questionnaire after multiple attempts to contact them, the website reads "candidate did not respond to questionnaire before press time." Candidates were informed of this policy.
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 the incumbent candidate
Katherine Culbert
Occupation & Experience:
Process Safety Engineer for Oil & Gas company
Candidate Website:
https://www.katherine4texas.com/
Contact Information:
[email protected]
What would your top priorities be if elected?
Affordability – so Texans can afford to heat their homes and put food on the table. Adaptability – to prepare for a rapidly changing energy landscape with new technologies and shifting market demands. Accountability – greater transparency for clear oversight, responsible stewardship of natural resources, and openness about how decisions are made.
What are your views on the future of renewable energy in Texas?
Our population is growing and requiring more energy, we need energy in all forms to help us meet the moment.
What steps will you take to handle environmental risks and overall safety related to Texas’ oil and gas and pipeline infrastructure?
The Railroad Commission needs to be more proactive on pipeline safety. We need to utilize data and risk analysis to help identify patterns, prioritize inspections, and focus attention on higher risk facilities.
What changes, if any, would you make to the rules governing drilling and hydraulic fracturing in Texas?
The current bonding program for drilling that is supposed to cover the plugging costs needs to be reworked. We need a realistic amount of financial buy-in from drilling companies to fully cover the plugging activities, and to make those companies responsible for monitoring the well in perpetuity.
What do you see as the greatest challenge for Texas in the next 5 years?
Increasing energy demands, requiring new technologies and an openness to utilizing all forms of energy generation.
Hawk Dunlap
Occupation & Experience:
35 years experience in Oil & Gas Drilling, Workover, Critical Well Intervention, and Well Control
Candidate Website:
https://www.hawk4texas.com/
Contact Information:
[email protected]
What would your top priorities be if elected?
Adding transparency and the ability of Texans to understand what the RRC does and allow them to meaningfully participate in decisions that impact them. Stopping the over-injection of produced water that is threatening drinking water and curtailing oil & gas production. Plugging orphaned wells with industry, not taxpayer dollars.
What are your views on the future of renewable energy in Texas?
I think Texans need inexpensive and reliable energy. I am source agnostic.
What steps will you take to handle environmental risks and overall safety related to Texas’ oil and gas and pipeline infrastructure?
I will hire experienced inspectors to make sure construction complies with regulations and fine those who do not comply.
What changes, if any, would you make to the rules governing drilling and hydraulic fracturing in Texas?
We have sufficient rules on the books, but they need to be enforced evenly and fairly. No special treatment for certain operators and not for others.
What do you see as the greatest challenge for Texas in the next 5 years?
Produced water. We are running out of pore space. If we inject it deep it causes earthquakes. If we inject it shallow, it finds old wellbores and creates geysers like the one you see in the attached picture. I'm the only candidate qualified to deal with the technical challenges of our oil and gas industry.
Bo French
Occupation & Experience:
Bo grew up in the oil industry in Midland and is an investor with decades ...
Candidate Website:
https://bofrench.com/
Contact Information:
[email protected]
What would your top priorities be if elected?
Top priorities: revolutionizing RRC permitting, cutting regulation, decentralizing the Commission's power back to regional offices, and ending DEI spending at the RRC.
What are your views on the future of renewable energy in Texas?
The RRC regulates far more than just oil and gas. I believe that new technologies and methods can be helpful in producing energy, but oil and gas are our most reliable backbone.
What steps will you take to handle environmental risks and overall safety related to Texas’ oil and gas and pipeline infrastructure?
We need to plug more abandoned wells and do it right. Currently, most contracts for this are awarded on non-competitive DEI criteria. By ending DEI criteria and requiring competitive bidding, we will be able to start plugging more wells.
What changes, if any, would you make to the rules governing drilling and hydraulic fracturing in Texas?
I would streamline permitting and use incentivization, rather than overregulation, to encourage the RRC's preferred methods.
What do you see as the greatest challenge for Texas in the next 5 years?
Energy and water are currently and will continue to be huge challenges.
James "Jim" Matlock
Occupation & Experience:
Candidate did not respond to questionnaire before press time.
Candidate Website:
https://matlock4rrc.com/
Contact Information:
[email protected]
What would your top priorities be if elected?
Candidate did not respond to questionnaire before press time.
What are your views on the future of renewable energy in Texas?
Candidate did not respond to questionnaire before press time.
What steps will you take to handle environmental risks and overall safety related to Texas’ oil and gas and pipeline infrastructure?
Candidate did not respond to questionnaire before press time.
What changes, if any, would you make to the rules governing drilling and hydraulic fracturing in Texas?
Candidate did not respond to questionnaire before press time.
What do you see as the greatest challenge for Texas in the next 5 years?
Candidate did not respond to questionnaire before press time.
Jim Wright*
Occupation & Experience:
Served as Railroad Commissioner since 2021; lifelong member of the oil and gas community.
Candidate Website:
https://wrightfortexas.com/
Contact Information:
[email protected]
What would your top priorities be if elected?
It is essential that Texas leads America and the world in energy production. To do this, we need to protect Texas energy independence. This boils down to strong oil and gas production, fair and consistent regulation, and protecting the land, water, and people of Texas.
What are your views on the future of renewable energy in Texas?
Renewables will continue to play a role in Texas’s energy mix, but never at the expense of the reliability of our electrical grid. We must ensure Texas has enough reliable baseload power to meet rising demand. That can be accomplished by fossil fuel generation, low-carbon nuclear power, or newer technologies.
What steps will you take to handle environmental risks and overall safety related to Texas’ oil and gas and pipeline infrastructure?
As Commissioner, I have worked with our state legislature, as well as the federal government and neighboring states, to ensure necessary funding for intrastate and interstate pipeline system inspections throughout Texas. We exceeded the goals for pipeline inspections by 127%, and the goals for oil and gas inspections by 127%.
What changes, if any, would you make to the rules governing drilling and hydraulic fracturing in Texas?
It is important that the Railroad Commission rules accurately reflect the current practices and methods being used in the field. During my tenure at the Commission, I have worked to update and modernize the rules at the Commission, some of which hadn’t been updated in almost 40 years.
What do you see as the greatest challenge for Texas in the next 5 years?
Regarding the energy sector, we must make sure that all of the new forms of energy and technology meet the same high standards as traditional energy. That’s why I am leading efforts to develop responsible regulations that protect landowners, groundwater, and community safety while encouraging investment and long-term opportunity.
