Democrat Takes Railroad Commission Seat

Jon Rosenthal won 51.2 percent of the vote in Tuesday's election for Texas Railroad Commissioner. This result places him 4.2 points ahead of his Republican challenger, Bo French. The Associated Press projected the outcome as of 11:30 p.m. with 72 percent of votes counted. Rosenthal accumulated 3,806,329 ballots. French received 3,498,631 votes. Libertarian candidate Arthur DiBianca secured 131,944 votes, or 1.8 percent of the total.

Rosenthal is a four-term state representative from northwest Harris County. Before entering politics in 2018, he worked as a mechanical engineer in the oil and gas sector for over 25 years. He defeated longtime Republican incumbent Gary Elkins to represent District 135 in the Texas House. His campaign focused on technical expertise and regulatory enforcement. He promised to increase funding for plugging abandoned wells and hold polluters accountable.

French served as the Tarrant County Republican Party chairman. He campaigned on reducing regulations and removing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives from the commission. In September, he posted a photo of South Asian students celebrating a University of Texas football win. He suggested foreigners were displacing Americans. The comments drew criticism from prominent Republicans. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said he would not vote for French. French defended his remarks in the days that followed.

The controversy brought national attention to a race that typically receives little coverage. Rosenthal saw a surge in financial support. He raised nearly 488,000 dollars in one reporting period following the incident. He collected another 524,245 dollars between Sept. 25 and Oct. 24. His total campaign contributions exceeded 1 million dollars, according to reports from The Texas Tribune.

Rosenthal's victory ends a long Republican hold on the agency. No Democrat has served on the three-member commission since 1994. Bob Krueger was the last Democrat elected to the body in 1990. The agency regulates oil and gas industries, pipelines, and mining operations. It does not oversee railroads, despite its name. Commissioners serve staggered six-year terms.

Rosenthal will succeed Jim Wright, the Republican commissioner. Wright lost a narrow Republican primary runoff to French in May. President Donald Trump endorsed Wright in that contest. He later left French off a list of Texas Republicans he urged voters to support. French conceded the race on Tuesday night via social media. He thanked supporters and said he would remain active in politics.

An October poll from the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs showed the race was tight. French led Rosenthal 45 percent to 43 percent in that survey. Ten percent of likely voters remained undecided. The final count confirmed Rosenthal's lead by a narrow margin.