This story is part of the San Antonio Report’s 2026 Voter Guide. You can view all of the candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot here.
The Texas Railroad Commission has a big job regulating the state’s oil and gas industry but its elections typically fly under the radar.
This year that changed when Republican Bo French grabbed national headlines for a viral social media post even many in his own party have decried as racist, causing some to abandon him in already unusual election cycle.
French defeated longtime incumbent Jim Wright in the GOP primary, and now faces a three-way general election against Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston) and Libertarian candidate Arthur DiBianca.
After the Republican held up a photo of cheering University of Texas students as evidence the school is producing too many minority graduates, other Texas Republicans are seeking distance from his campaign, and longtime GOP strategist Karl Rove penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed saying he’d vote for the Democrat over such “raw, uncut bigotry.”
Rosenthal is an engineer who worked in the oil and gas industry most of his career, but founded a liberal grassroots group after President Donald Trump’s first election, and later unseated an incumbent Republican to win a seat in the Texas House.
French’s family owns an oil company and he started his own career in private equity. His penchant for controversy has long drawn the ire of elected Republicans in his home of Fort Worth, but voters there elected him county party chair.
Members of the Texas Railroad Commission serve staggered six-year terms, and Wright’s seat is the only one up for reelection in 2026.
Voter guide profiles are compiled using candidates’ filing paperwork, campaign materials and past news coverage. Click the links below to read more about the candidates.
