Bo French will be the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner after Tuesday’s primary runoffdefeating incumbent Jim Wright.
The three-member Railroad Commission regulates the oil and natural gas industry in Texas, despite no longer overseeing railroads.
The race evolved into one of the most closely watched Republican primaries in Texas this year, becoming a proxy fight over the direction of the Texas GOP.
French defeated Wright by 1.2 percentage points, even though the incumbent had the backing of several of the state’s most powerful Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, according to the Texas Tribune.
Wright also had financial support from much of the oil and gas industry and major Republican donors, including Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson.
French was backed by West Texas oil billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, influential conservative donors who have worked to move the Texas Republican Party further to the right. According to the Texas Tribune, Dunn and Wilks spent more than $1 million on TV ads supporting French.
French campaigned less on the technical responsibilities of the Railroad Commission and more on his support for President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. He pledged to use the office to fight “DEI, overbearing regulation, and the influence of radical Islam and the [Chinese Communist Party] in Texas oil.”
Before running statewide, French served as chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party. He resigned last year after controversy surrounding a post on his X account that asked whether Jews or Muslims were a bigger threat to the United States.
Wright had campaigned on his experience in the oil and gas industry and called himself a “lifelong conservative, and a proven advocate for Texas energy.”
The Republican nominee is expected to be heavily favored in the November general election against Democrat Jon Rosenthal.