Matt Sterett

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Matt Sterett

Libertarian Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Connecticut College, 2011

Graduate

ESCP Business School, 2015

Personal

Birthplace

Corpus Christi, Texas

Profession

Entrepreneur

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Matt Sterett (Libertarian Party) ran for election to the Texas Railroad Commission. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Sterett completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Matt Sterett was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College in 2011 and a graduate degree from the ESCP Business School in 2015. Sterett’s career experience includes working in finance and as an entrepreneur.

Elections

2020

See also: Texas Railroad Commissioner election, 2020

General election

General election for Texas Railroad Commission

James Wright defeated Chrysta Castañeda, Matt Sterett, and Katija Gruene in the general election for Texas Railroad Commission on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Wright (R)	53.0	5,831,263
		Chrysta Castañeda (D)	43.6	4,792,422
		Matt Sterett (L)	2.3	247,659
	Submit photo	Katija Gruene (G)	1.2	129,638

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,000,982
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for Texas Railroad Commission

Chrysta Castañeda defeated Roberto Alonzo in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas Railroad Commission on July 14, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chrysta Castañeda	62.0	579,698
		Roberto Alonzo	38.0	355,053

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 934,751
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Railroad Commission

Chrysta Castañeda and Roberto Alonzo advanced to a runoff. They defeated Kelly Stone and Mark Watson in the Democratic primary for Texas Railroad Commission on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chrysta Castañeda	33.8	598,638
✔		Roberto Alonzo	28.7	506,748
		Kelly Stone	21.7	383,453
		Mark Watson	15.8	279,911

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,768,750
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Railroad Commission

James Wright defeated incumbent Ryan Sitton in the Republican primary for Texas Railroad Commission on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Wright	55.3	991,593
		Ryan Sitton	44.7	801,904

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,793,497
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Green convention

Green convention for Texas Railroad Commission

Katija Gruene advanced from the Green convention for Texas Railroad Commission on April 18, 2020.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Katija Gruene (G)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas Railroad Commission

Matt Sterett defeated Charlie Stevens in the Libertarian convention for Texas Railroad Commission on August 3, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Matt Sterett (L)
		Charlie Stevens (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Matt Sterett completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sterett's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm native Texan.

I currently run a small software company - we sell software to Oil & Gas companies, automating petroleum engineering (DCA) analyses.

I care about Voters, Taxpayers & the Oil & Gas Industry.

I hate it when the government wastes time, money & resources.

For voters & taxpayers - if the RRC is wasting your time, money & resources - Join Me - We can stop the waste.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Flaring - NOT Fracking - is the problem
• Aggressively Digitize Records & Systems - Save Time, Money & Paper
• Too Much Paperwork - Minimize Admin, Internally & Externally

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm passionate about legislative system efficiency (less paperwork) & fiscal discipline.

Wasting time, money & resources is offensive to you + me, as voters + taxpayers.

I care about:

(A) Stopping wasteful Gas Flaring
(B) Streamlining & Migrating RRC processes to modern digital systems

(C) Simplifying regulations - there's too much unnecessary Paperwork

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

Texas produces ~40% of the USA's Oil.

If it makes sense for any industry to have a state regulator in Texas, then it's Oil & Gas.

For individuals to make good decisions, you need data/information.

The RRC collects that data & makes it transparent.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Literally, Tim Duncan (he was also pretty good at basketball).

Politically, Idaho governor Brad Little. He managed to get rid of outdated & irrelevant state regulations.

Both are honest & straightforward .

And both get the job done.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Capitalism and Freedom.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

A belief that generally, Less is More.

E.g., eliminating old laws / regulation.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I don't care about speeches, I don't care about appearances - I care about getting the job done.

I work beyond 9-5. Good-Enough-for-Government-Work doesn't cut it for me.

I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty - I'll do the work myself if that's what it takes to get the job done.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Decreasing Budgets & Red Tape, while increasing efficiency & usability of regulations, by leveraging modern technology.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Fewer regulations than before.

Spend less, do more.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

George H. W. Bush's inauguration - it was the first time my dad had me watch TV with him that wasn't a basketball game.

I was almost 3.

I didn't know his name at the time, but a picture of his face was placed on the wall of my pre-school.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked on Rob Simmons' congressional campaign, while living Connecticut's 2nd congressional district.

Rob lost the election by 83 votes, to Joe Courtney.

Joe Courtney still holds that seat, and over his tenure, that district has stagnated - today it's a dysfunctional system à la Tammany Hall.

We needed 84 more votes...

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Prize.

The History of the Oil Industry is an epic tale of Human Perseverance & Capitalism.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Jon Snow.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

AC/DC - Thunderstruck

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Every day, I try to give up coffee.

And every day, I lose that battle.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

The RRC has the ability to restrict Gas Flaring, by simply denying permits that allow for Gas Flaring.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

No.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Other than an aversion to wasting Tax Payers money...

Technical understating of software systems.

For example, the RRC currently uses ASCII text files - this was useful in the days of MS-DOS.

Today, that's like riding a horse down I-10.

The operational inefficiencies of dated systems compound, wasting people's time, money & resources.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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