When Jim Wright first ran to lead the Texas Railroad Commission in 2020, he had the backing of Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the two most prominent Republicans in Texas, and an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Those endorsements, and Wright's experience in the oil and gas industry, which the Railroad Commission regulates, should have made him the favored Republican in this year's election for the head of the three-person commission.
But Wright is now in a runoff election with Bo French, a far-right candidate who has spoken more about Islam and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives on the campaign trail than the energy industry, turning an often overlooked statewide race into a gauge on what it takes to win statewide office in Texas in 2026.
"A win by Wright would reinforce the influence of more traditional conservatives and institutional Republicans," Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston, said. "While a win from French would signal that the MAGA and populist faction would fully dominate the Republican Party politics into the future."
'This is the group that votes'
Despite its name, the Texas Railroad Commission hasn't regulated rail in more than 20 years. Instead, it oversees the state's massive energy industry, including everything from oil and gas production to natural gas and hydrogen mining. The commission issues energy companies permits to operate and inspect facilities.
Neither Wright nor French responded to our interview requests for this story. But in April, Wright spoke with Texas Scorecard, a conservative news outlet, and said the Railroad Commission is important because of the massive industry it oversees.
"That is a huge part of our economic success," Wright said of the state's energy industry. "We're the fourth largest producer in the world, we're the eighth largest economy in the world."
A lifelong South Texan, Wright came up in oil fields and is tied to several oil field waste and environmental services companies (so much so that he's occasionally had to recuse himself from voting on issuing companies permits).
French is the former chairman of the Tarrant County GOP, where he earned a reputation as a far-right activist who regularly targeted Muslims, LGBTQ issues and DEI initiatives. French told attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas in March that the state should ban Islam because "it's not a religion, it's a governmental structure intent on overthrowing our constitution.
After a social media post last year where French asked his followers if Jews or Muslims were a bigger threat to America, Republican leaders like Lt. Gov. Patrick called for his resignation as the Tarrant County GOP chair.
French eventually left his position and opted to run for the Railroad Commission, earning 31.7% of the vote to Wright's 32%, forcing a runoff that will be decided May 26.
And while French doesn't have the backing of the top elected officials in the state, he is supported by Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, two conservative billionaires who made their fortunes in the oil business and have been pouring money into Texas politics.
"French speaks to a very core group of Republican insurgent activists who want to see the party move in a more conservative direction," Rottinghaus said. "He has traction with that group. And this is the group that votes."
And that could be crucial in the primary and subsequent runoff, since turnout is often low for such elections.
"The voters in a primary runoff are likely to be the most committed, most conservative voters," Rottinghaus said.
The Texas Newsroom is a public radio journalism collaboration that includes NPR, KERA in North Texas, Houston Public Media, KUT in Austin, Texas Public Radio in San Antonio and other stations across the state.