James Matlock (Texas Railroad Commission candidate)
James Matlock (Republican Party) is running for election to the Texas Railroad Commission. He is on the ballot in the Republican primary on March 3, 2026.[source]
Biography
James Matlock's career experience includes working in the oil and gas industry.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Texas Railroad Commissioner election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary for Texas Railroad Commission
Jon Rosenthal (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Texas Railroad Commission on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Jon Rosenthal  | |
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Republican primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Republican primary for Texas Railroad Commission
Incumbent James Wright (R), Katherine Culbert (R), Hawk Dunlap (R), Bo French (R), and James Matlock (R) are running in the Republican primary for Texas Railroad Commission on March 3, 2026.
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2024
See also: Texas Railroad Commissioner election, 2024
General election
General election for Texas Railroad Commission
Incumbent Christi Craddick defeated Katherine Culbert, Eddie Espinoza, Hawk Dunlap, and Richard McKibbin in the general election for Texas Railroad Commission on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Christi Craddick (R) | 55.6 | 6,100,218 |
 | Katherine Culbert (D) | 39.0 | 4,275,904 | |
 | Eddie Espinoza (G) | 2.8 | 301,793 | |
 | Hawk Dunlap (L) | 2.6 | 285,544 | |
 | Richard McKibbin (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 1,656 | |
| Total votes: 10,965,115 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas Railroad Commission
Katherine Culbert defeated Bill Burch in the Democratic primary for Texas Railroad Commission on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Katherine Culbert | 67.6 | 615,965 |
 | Bill Burch | 32.4 | 294,628 | |
| Total votes: 910,593 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas Railroad Commission
Incumbent Christi Craddick defeated James Matlock, Christie Clark, Corey Howell, and Petra Reyes in the Republican primary for Texas Railroad Commission on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christi Craddick | 50.4 | 982,457 |
 | James Matlock | 26.6 | 517,624 | |
 | Christie Clark | 11.7 | 228,395 | |
| Corey Howell | 6.3 | 122,802 | ||
 | Petra Reyes | 5.0 | 97,280 | |
| Total votes: 1,948,558 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Chris Corner (R)
Green convention
Green convention for Texas Railroad Commission
Eddie Espinoza advanced from the Green convention for Texas Railroad Commission on April 13, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Eddie Espinoza (G) | 100.0 | 51 |
| Total votes: 51 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for Texas Railroad Commission
Hawk Dunlap defeated Chris Fuller in the Libertarian convention for Texas Railroad Commission on April 14, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Hawk Dunlap (L) |
| Chris Fuller (L) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Matlock in this election.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
James Matlock has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to James Matlock asking him to fill out the survey. If you are James Matlock, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
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You can ask James Matlock to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@matlock4rrc.com.
Campaign website
Matlock's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
The Platform Serving The Community Jim Matlock is a native Texan that proudly served his country as a U. S. Marine and is ready to serve the people of Texas by protecting the independent property owners, the individual mineral owners and the independent producers of oil and gas in our state as the next Commissioner for the Railroad Commission of Texas. Jim gained leadership skills as a member of an anti-terrorist unit of the United States Marine Corps. One of the first things he noticed about the oil and gas industry was the vulnerability of our critical infrastructure. Jim has eighteen years field experience in oil and gas; from title work, to truck supervisor, to small business owner and consultant. Jim's most profound quote is, "Don't tell me there's an energy crisis when I am still seeing waste." Jim is running to reduce/eliminate oilfield waste, and give every Texan a voice on oil and gas policy. Becoming Good Stewards of Our Resources Five facts about Texans 1. Texans are proud of their oil and gas heritage. 2. Texans enjoy their waterborne recreation. 3. Texans deserve a clean water supply. 4. Texans embrace new and more efficient technology. 5. Texas should have the strongest, most secure and most reliable electric grid in the U. S. Our resources are precious. I'm not just talking about the oil, gas, and coal. I'm talking about our water supply. It's time the oil and gas companies begin recycling their waste water for use in future frac jobs. It takes between 1.5 and 9.8 million gallons of water to frac one stage of a well. Currently, they are pulling most of that water from our surface and ground water sources. There's technology that would clean the water to irrigation quality. That would allow the oil and gas industry to benefit farmers and ranchers by providing water during drought situations. Irrigation quality water could be released into the environment. The industry produces an average of 588 million gallons per day of water that is injected into zones that are not capable of producing hydrocarbons. While the flare stacks are mesmerizing at night, we are missing out on a great opportunity. Last year alone, we flared sixty-eight (68) billion cubic feet of natural gas. Why? Because Texas PUC and ERCOT refuse to give permits to sell electric into the grid when it is generated from what would be flare gas. It takes 250 mcf per day to generate 1.5 Mw/H. There's new technology that could capture all flare gas and create products without any waste. Now, let's talk about the solids waste generated from the oil and gas industry. That waste can be cleaned up enough to meet EPA and TCEQ regulations for road base. Instead, that waste is placed in poly lined landfills; creating an environmental hazard for future generations. Finally, we need to address the orphaned/abandoned wells that are aging without any maintenance or oversight. Having worked so many years within the industry, especially the last 5 years on the environmental side, James has been exposed to a lot of new technology. It's time we put this technology to use. |
” |
| —James Matlock's campaign website (2026)[3] | ||
2024
James Matlock did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Matlock 4 RRC, "Home," accessed February 19, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ James Matlock's campaign website, “Home,” accessed January 21, 2026
