Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian beats Sarah Stogner in runoff

Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian secured the Republican ticket Tuesday for reelection as the state’s top oil and gas regulator. The incumbent handily defeated challenger Sarah Stogner, a West Texas oil and gas attorney who had mounted an aggressive, mostly self-funded campaign. Stogner was the underdog in the race. Her campaign drew headlines early on when Stogner appeared semi-nude in a campaign ad, a move that roiled some fellow Republicans. She got a late $2 million ad boost from friend and legal client Ashley Watt, a rancher who has fought with Christian and the other two railroad commissioners over leaking oil wells on her property. Christian, a financial planner and former state representative from East Texas, currently chairs the agency and is in his first term. He will face Democrat Luke Warford this November.

“I'm thankful to @TexasGOP for re-nominating me for this vital office,” Christian tweeted. “I look forward to continue fighting for cheap, plentiful, reliable energy, as we stand up to the Biden’s radical liberal agenda.” Railroad Commission races don’t often draw much attention. But the agency has come under renewed criticism since last year’s deadly winter blackouts. Natural gas operators regulated by the commission cut off production as demand for power spiked, creating a scarcity that helped bring in record profits. The agency’s three commissioners, all Republicans, are heavily funded by the oil and gas industry. No Democrat has held a seat on the commission since 1994. Christian has defended gas producers, and pointed to declines in wind and solar generation during the freeze as a primary culprit, contradicting data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He wants to protect the industry from new regulations and says that helps Texans by keeping prices low. Christian faced added controversy earlier this year when it emerged that he had overruled agency staff who warned against permitting an oil and gas waste facility near a major aquifer. Three days after voting to approve the permit in late 2020, he took a $100,000 donation from the company funding the venture. “It’s a marathon not a sprint,” Stogner tweeted Tuesday. “Thank you to the tribe. See y’all at convention.”