Ryan Sitton

Ryan Sitton

Republican Party

Prior offices

Texas Railroad Commission

Successor: James Wright

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Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Texas A&M University, 1998

Personal

Birthplace

Irving, Texas

Religion

Christian

Profession

Engineer

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Ryan Sitton (Republican Party) was a member of the Texas Railroad Commission. He assumed office on January 5, 2015. He left office on January 4, 2021.

Sitton (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Texas Railroad Commission. He lost in the Republican primary on March 3, 2020.

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

Sitton was a 2012 Republican candidate for District 24 of the Texas House of Representatives.

Biography

Ryan Sitton was born in Irving, Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in 1998. His career experience includes working as a professional engineer. Sitton started his own company in 2006 with his wife, Jennifer. Pinnacle, an engineering and technology company serving the energy and petrochemical industries, is located in Pasadena, Texas.

Sitton previously served a term on the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, was appointed to the Texas A&M Mechanical Engineering Advisory Council, and is an active member of the Pasadena Conservative Citizens Club.

Political career

Texas Railroad Commission (2015-2021)

Sitton was first elected to the office on November 4, 2014. He was sworn into office on January 5, 2015, replacing Barry Smitherman (R).

During his swearing-in ceremony, Sitton made the following comments:

“	I look forward to working with Chairman Christi Craddick and Commissioner David Porter as we draw on our unique and diverse experiences to provide a stable regulatory environment that will protect our citizens and our natural resources, while allowing our energy industry to thrive... To the citizens of the state of Texas, I say that we are here to serve. In that service, we want to do a couple of things. We want to be communicating with you in the language of science, technology and data. We want to make sure when there are questions about how energy is developed, that we are quick to respond and that we provide the applicable resources to answer those questions. We are going to be a service-oriented group, and we want the citizens of Texas to feel confident in that.	”
—Texas Railroad Commission, (2015)

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

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	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.
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.
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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

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	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

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	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

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	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)

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	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)

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	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.

2014

See also: Texas down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Sitton ran for election to the office of Texas Railroad Commission. Sitton came in second for the Republican nomination in the primary. He defeated Wayne Christian in a runoff on May 27. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

Results

Primary election

Texas Railroad Commissioner Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Wayne Christian	42.7%	503,634
Ryan Sitton	30.5%	360,125
Becky Berger	16.8%	198,672
Malachi Boyuls	10%	117,511
Total Votes		1,179,942
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Primary runoff

Texas Railroad Commissioner Republican Primary Runoff, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ryan Sitton	57.3%	400,259
Wayne Christian	42.7%	298,659
Total Votes		698,918
Election results via Texas Secretary of State. Vote totals above are unofficial and reflect 98 precincts reporting.

General election

Texas Railroad Commissioner, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Ryan Sitton	58.3%	2,690,624
	Democrat	Steve Brown	36.5%	1,682,644
	Libertarian	Mark Miller	3.2%	145,365
	Green	Martina Salinas	2%	93,800
Total Votes				4,612,433
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

2012

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2012

Sitton ran in the 2012 election for Texas House of Representatives, District 24. Sitton was defeated by Greg Bonnen in the primary runoff election on July 31.

Texas House of Representatives District 24 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Greg Bonnen (advanced to runoff)	45.1%	6,951
Ryan Sitton (advanced to runoff)	32.6%	5,035
Heidi Thiess	22.3%	3,440
Total Votes		15,426

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ryan Sitton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sitton'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 have spent my career in oil and gas, built a thriving business in this industry, and am the first engineer to serve on the Railroad Commission in over 50 years. I ran for and won this office in 2014 to bring my experience and expertise in oil and gas to work for Texans every day. I have spent the past six years doing just that. My goal is ensuring energy produced in Texas is produced affordably and reliably, and as safely and cleanly as possible.

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?

• Texas energy production is lifting people around the world out of poverty.
• To fully realize our energy opportunities, Texas needs energy transportation infrastructure investment.
• People are greater than government. When we allow people to innovate and solve problems without thinking government is the solution for every challenge, that is when we are at our best.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Energy, education and healthcare.

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

The Railroad Commission oversees the Texas industry that makes up a third of our state's economy. Good regulation from the commission requires predictable rules and consistent enforcement. If we didn't have an efficient and effect Railroad Commission, Texas could not have gone from producing one million barrels of oil per day to producing five million, just in the last ten years.

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

No.

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

Integrity, limited government and service oriented.

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

To promote the energy industry as appropriate and to take out operators that willfully violate the rules.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Like many people, I would like to leave the world better for my three awesome kids than I found it. I would like for people to remember how important service to others, my family and my community is and I would like them to remember that I lived out my faith in God.

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

My first job out of college was working for Occidental Petroleum in their chemical facilities. As a mechanical engineer I spent most of my career in large industrial facilities doing integrity and reliability work to try to prevent things from breaking and to make sure they operated as safely as possible. I worked at Oxy for about two years before I went to work for Marathon.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Leadership books - too many to name!

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

Batman, of course!

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

Jump Around by House of Pain

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

All of them. Leading the agency with integrity and with an emphasis on using the best science and data available to make decisions. Making decisions impartially based on the rules and the statutes so that everyone receives consistent treatment is important.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

No.

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

No. I believe that the most valuable experience to hold this position is to have familiarity with the energy industry and how it works so that you can make intelligent decisions that are in the best interest of all Texans.

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

Some sort of engineering or science background and experience in the energy field is the most important.

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.

2014

Sitton's campaign website listed the following issues:

• Stopping Illegal Immigration

Excerpt: "We need to secure the borders, and remove incentives for illegal immigrants, by making it more difficult for illegal immigrants to get jobs, obtain driver’s licenses, and obtain free healthcare."

• Controlling Government Spending

Excerpt: "Our governments, at all levels, should act like a business. We should only keep the government functions that actually add value, and only budget amounts required to fund the valuable functions."

• Taxes and Fees – Cutting and Capping

Excerpt: "Taxes and fees are job killers, specifically when you are trying to foster growth. By cutting taxes and capping any future increases, we can spur economic growth and create new jobs."

• Committed to Public Education

Excerpt: "Our public education system has some opportunities to improve. Most importantly, there is too much money spent on administration, which is driven by too many ineffective government mandates."

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Ryan Sitton campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2014	Texas Railroad Commissioner	Won	$4,070,984	N/A**
Grand total			$4,070,984	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Sitton and his wife, Jennifer, have three children.

See also

2020 Elections

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External links

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Barry Smitherman (R)	Texas Railroad Commission 2015-2021	Succeeded by James Wright (R)