Texas Railroad Commission Runoff Pits Regulation Against Culture War

Texas voters face a May 26 runoff that will decide who helps set rules for the state’s oil and gas industry at a moment when wastewater volumes from fracking are rising sharply. The contest between incumbent Jim Wright and challenger Bo French centers on whether the Texas Railroad Commission should tighten disposal standards for toxic drilling waste that has already produced geysers and groundwater risks in the Permian Basin.

Wright, who owns an oilfield waste company, led adoption of the first updates to pit-lining rules in more than forty years; supporters including Gov. Greg Abbott and major producers argue the changes are modest but necessary to prevent larger contamination events. French, who received 31.7 percent in the March primary to Wright’s 32 percent, has attacked the rules as “New Mexico-style” burdens on small operators and has centered his campaign on opposition to DEI, Islam, and broad deportation targets.

The three-member commission regulates pipelines, sets some natural gas prices, and oversees abandoned-well plugging, yet French’s public events have featured figures such as Kyle Rittenhouse and Ken Paxton while emphasizing claims that mosques function as training centers and that a Saudi-linked plastics plant is enacting Sharia law. Independent drillers and two Texas billionaires have funded a PAC supporting French; larger producers and the Adelson and Crow families have backed Wright.

Environmental groups note the new lining requirements would not have prevented recent waste geysers and fall short of New Mexico’s standards in place since 2008. Wright has described the office as regulatory rather than political and said further updates will be required. French did not respond to requests for comment on his regulatory plans.