Railroad Commission hopefuls French and Rosenthal raise $1.3 million combined in the race's last full reporting month

The race for an open seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, the agency that oversees the state's oil and gas industry, drew $1.3 million in new contributions over the last month of campaign finance reporting, one of the largest combined totals of the contest, The Texas Tribune reported Tuesday.

The reports cover Sept. 25 through Oct. 24, the last full filing period before the Nov. 3 election.

French

Republican nominee Bo French raised about $748,000, his second-best period since he entered the race, and spent close to $1 million. He reported $434,508 on hand along with a $100,000 loan.

His largest contributions included $200,000 from Richard Sands, an executive with New York-based LRG Energy LLC, which the Tribune said owns 5,000 wells in the Texas Panhandle, and $300,000 from Texas United for a Conservative Majority, a political action committee funded mostly by West Texas oil billionaire Tim Dunn. At least $600,000 of French's spending went to television ads and mail.

French has raised at least $3 million over the campaign, most of it from Dunn and fellow conservative donor Farris Wilks through PACs, and he has outraised his opponent in every reporting period but one, according to the Tribune.

The report comes about a month after French drew criticism from fellow Republicans over a post on X about Southeast Asian students that the Tribune described as racist.

Rosenthal

Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal of Cypress had his best period yet, raising $524,245 and pushing his campaign total past $1 million. He reported $561,552 on hand.

Houston philanthropist Susan Sarofim gave him $100,000, Austin attorney R. Stephen McNally gave $40,000 and Rishi Bhutada, an executive vice president at a Houston manufacturing company, gave $25,000. Rosenthal reported paying $242,000 in consulting fees to VoteShift, a firm that handles campaign events, advertising, texting, email and social media.

The seat

The winner will join a three-member commission whose sitting members are all Republicans. It regulates oil and gas production and carbon storage, issues environmental violations and oversees the state's pipeline network. Texas produced nearly half of the nation's oil last year, the Tribune noted, and polls have shown the two candidates running close.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Sources

The Texas Tribune