Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows all supported French’s opponent.

In the GOP runoff for Texas Railroad commissioner, billionaires, big oil companies and trade groups flood the campaign pockets of candidates Jim Wright and Bo French.

The lieutenant governor endorsed state Sen. Mayes Middleton over U.S. Rep. Chip Roy for the Republican attorney general nod. And he backed Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright over challenger Bo French.

The May 26 runoff pits incumbent Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, who’s pitching himself as a “proven advocate for Texas energy,” against Bo French, who has cast himself as a “MAGA conservative.”

Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks made their fortune in the oil business. They’ve deployed millions of dollars to pull the Texas GOP and Legislature toward their hardline stances.

The Texas Railroad Commission is responsible for regulating the state’s oil and gas industry. The election included a clash over China and diversity rules.

Jim Wright, the GOP incumbent, and several other Republican candidates dismissed Bo French’s campaign rhetoric as distracting from the Railroad Commission’s mission.

The new rule modernizes some aspects of commercial oilfield waste disposal and recycling. But rules for burying oilfield waste on private property remain limited.

There will be at least $100 million left in the estate of the so-called last Hawaiian princess to support Native Hawaiian culture.

The effort to update the state’s oilfield waste disposal rules was initiated by Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, one of the state’s top oil and gas regulators who has investments in the industry.

McBride Operating LLC and its owner, Joseph McBride, contributed to the political campaigns of the three commissioners on the Texas Railroad Commission now considering his request.

The Texas Railroad Commission has rejected the proposal twice over water contamination concerns, but locals are dismayed that the commissioners keep giving the developer more chances to alter its application.

Abigail Kawānanakoa, the so-called last Hawaiian princess whose lineage included the royal family that once ruled the islands and an Irish businessman who became one of Hawaii’s largest landowners, died on Sunday.

But Texas oil and gas regulators addressed only part of the problem that led millions of Texans to lose power for days after February’s winter storm, and gas producers likely won’t be required to weatherize until 2023.

Democrat Chrysta Castañeda and Republican Jim Wright face off for a seat on the three-member Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the state's oil and gas industry. The Railroad Commission of Texas regulates the state's massive oil and gas industry, and its elected, three-member board has been entirely Republican for at least 25 years. Wright said he is running to protect the state’s oil and gas industry and keep Texans employed. “They put their faith in TV, but I’ll put my faith in the people of Texas,” Wright said in an interview. Oil and gas producers say it's because of a shortage of pipelines, while environmentalists say it's due to economics because natural gas is far cheaper than oil.

Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for president this year. Bloomberg's contribution helped Castañeda raise $3.5 million on her latest campaign finance report, according to her campaign. The filing covers Sept. 25 through Oct. 26 and is due to the Texas Ethics Commission by the end of the day Monday. Castañeda's Republican opponent is Jim Wright, who unexpectedly beat the incumbent railroad commissioner, Ryan Sitton, in the March primary. The commission's three current members are all Republicans, and a Democrat has not won statewide office in over two decades in Texas.