Texas Railroad Commission election, 2016

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Texas Railroad Commission Election

Primary Date: May 10, 2016

General Election Date: November 8, 2016

November Election Winner: Wayne Christian (R)

Incumbent Prior to Election: David Porter (R)

State Executive Elections Top Ballot None Down Ballot Railroad Commission

Key election dates

Filing deadline (all candidates): December 14, 2015

Primary date: March 1, 2016

Primary runoff date: May 24, 2016

Filing deadline (write-ins): August 22, 2016

General election date: November 8, 2016

Recount request deadline: TBD

Inauguration: TBD

Texas held an election for one of the three seats on the Railroad Commission on November 8, 2016. Wayne Christian (R) defeated Grady Yarbrough (D) in the general election, keeping the commission under unanimous Republican control.

HIGHLIGHTS

Since 1994, no Democrats had served on the three-member commission.

Incumbent David Porter (R) did not run for re-election.

Former state Rep. Wayne Christian (R) and Grady Yarbrough (D) won their parties' May 24 runoff primary elections and competed in the November general election.

Christian won the general election on November 8, 2016.

Overview

The Texas Railroad Commission is a powerful, three-member regulatory board that is responsible for overseeing the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and surface coal and uranium mining. Incumbent David Porter (R) did not run for re-election in 2016, electing instead to return to the private sector.

Texas state government has been controlled by a Republican trifecta since 2003. All three seats of the Railroad Commission were held by Republicans at the time of the 2016 election. No Democrats had sat on the commission since 1994. Christian won the general election on November 8, 2016.

Candidates

Grady Yarbrough (D)
Retired public school teacher

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Wayne Christian (R)
Former state representative

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Martina Salinas (Green Party)
Green Party activist

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Mark Miller (Lib.)
Petroleum engineer

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Click show to view candidates defeated in the primary elections.
Lon Burnam (D) Cody Garrett (D) Gary Gates (R) Ron Hale (R) Lance Christian (R) Weston Martinez (R) Doug Jeffrey (R) John Greytok (R)

Results

General election

Wayne Christian defeated Grady Yarbrough, Mark Miller, and Martina Salinas in the Texas railroad commission election.

Texas Railroad Commission, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Wayne Christian	53.07%	4,648,841
	Democratic	Grady Yarbrough	38.38%	3,362,041
	Libertarian	Mark Miller	5.28%	462,251
	Green	Martina Salinas	3.28%	287,105
Total Votes				8,760,238
Source: Texas Secretary of State

Primary elections

Texas Railroad Commission, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Gary Gates	28.4%	586,846
Wayne Christian	19.7%	408,056
Ron Hale	14.7%	303,847
Lance Christian	12.1%	250,523
Weston Martinez	10.1%	208,710
Doug Jeffrey	9.3%	192,999
John Greytok	5.7%	117,125
Total Votes		2,068,106
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Texas Railroad Commission, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Grady Yarbrough	39.9%	434,532
Cody Garrett	35.2%	383,121
Lon Burnam	24.8%	270,323
Total Votes		1,087,976
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Primary runoff elections

Texas Railroad Commission, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Wayne Christian	51.1%	192,217
Gary Gates	48.9%	184,170
Total Votes		376,387
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Texas Railroad Commission, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Grady Yarbrough	53.8%	101,466
Cody Garrett	46.2%	87,126
Total Votes		188,592
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Context of the 2016 election

Primary elections

A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Texas utilizes an open primary system. Voters do not have to register with a party. At the primary, a voter may choose which party primary ballot to vote on. The voter must sign a pledge declaring that he or she will not vote in another party's primary or convention that year. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes during a primary election, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters.

Texas' primary election took place on March 1, 2016, with a primary runoff election on May 24, 2016.

Incumbent David Porter (R)

Porter, incumbent commissioner at the time of the 2016 election, was first elected to the commission in 2010, defeating Democrat Jeff Weems by nearly 25 percentage points. He had served as chairman of the commission since June 2015. Prior to taking office, Porter owned and operated a small business around his CPA practice in Midland, Texas, providing accounting and tax services to oil and gas producers, royalty owners, oil field service companies, and other small businesses. During his tenure on the commission, Porter served on the Interstate oil and Gas Compact Commission as well as the Interstate Mining Compact Commission.

Porter had initially planned to run for re-election in 2016, but dropped his bid in December 2015. "Now is a good time to focus on my family and my return to the private sector," he said in a statement.

Party control in Texas

Going into the election, the Railroad Commission had not had a Democratic member since Mary Scott Nabers left office in 1994. Nabers was appointed by Governor Ann Richards (D) in 1993 to fill a vacancy, but lost her 1994 election bid to Republican Carole Keeton Rylander. The office had not seen a Republican win the office by any less than eight percent since 2000, and the Republican Party had since enjoyed margins of victory as high as 62 percent.

Indeed, Texas state government was controlled by a Republican trifecta since 2003. At the time of the election, Republicans also controlled all partisan state executive offices. The state had not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988, nor had its electoral votes gone to a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

All three seats on the commission were held by Republicans in 2016, ensuring that they would retain their majority on the commission regardless of the outcome of the 2016 election.

Campaigns

Campaign finance

Note: If a candidate does not appear below, he or she did not meet or exceed minimum reporting requirements.

Grady Yarbrough Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July 15 report	07/15/2016	$0	$0	$(13,757.27)	$0
			Running totals
			$0	$(13,757.27)

Wayne Christian Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July 15 report	07/15/2016	$	$134,054.36	$(49,248.01)	$51,205.16
			Running totals
			$134,054.36	$(49,248.01)

Martina Salinas Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July 15 report	07/15/2016	$	$94.29	$()	$94.29
			Running totals
			$94.29	$(0)

Mark Miller Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July 15 report	07/15/2016	$	$22,461.65	$(19,665.89)	$12,216.15
			Running totals
			$22,461.65	$(19,665.89)

Candidates who were defeated in the primary elections

Lon Burnam Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July 15 report	07/15/2016	$	$13,337.62	$(83,260.20)	$22,835.13
			Running totals
			$13,337.62	$(83,260.2)

Gary Gates Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July 15 report	07/15/2016	$	$1,660.00	$(80,303.08)	$182,019.28
			Running totals
			$1,660	$(80,303.08)

Ron Hale Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July 15 report	07/15/2016	$	$427.74	$(432.74)	$0
			Running totals
			$427.74	$(432.74)

Lance Christian Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July 15 report	07/15/2016	$	$500.00	$(500.00)	$0
			Running totals
			$500	$(500)

Weston Martinez Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July 15 report	07/15/2016	$	$1,000.00	$(1,814.50)	$2,482.54
			Running totals
			$1,000	$(1,814.5)

Doug Jeffrey Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
May 17 report	05/17/2016	$	$8,550.00	$(28,796.28)	$0
			Running totals
			$8,550	$(28,796.28)

John Greytok Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July 15 report	07/12/2016	$	$4,655.00	$(74,243.98)	$8,161.93
			Running totals
			$4,655	$(74,243.98)

Campaign media

Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!

Democrats

Grady Yarbrough (D)

Republicans

Wayne Christian (R)

Third-party candidates

Martina Salinas (Green)
Mark Miller (Lib.)

About the office

Despite its name, the commission does not regulate railroads but instead oversees the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and surface coal and uranium mining. Historically, the railroad commission has been a very powerful office. OPEC, the Middle Eastern oil cartel, was originally modeled in part on the commission. The agency has also been a launching pad to higher office.

Qualifications

Qualifications for being a commissioner are outlined in the Texas Natural Resource Code.

To serve on the Texas Railroad Commission, a person must be:

• a qualified voter under the constitution and laws; and
• at least 25 years of age.

Authority

The commission's authority is established by the Texas Natural Resource Code.

Texas Natural Resource Code, Title 3. Chapter 81, Subchapter C, Section 81.051

JURISDICTION OF COMMISSION. (a) The commission has jurisdiction over all: (1) common carrier pipelines defined in Section 111.002 of this code in Texas; (2) oil and gas wells in Texas; (3) persons owning or operating pipelines in Texas; and (4) persons owning or engaged in drilling or operating oil or gas wells in Texas.

Duties

The commission is responsible for overseeing and regulating the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry and surface coal and uranium mining in the state of Texas.

Divisions

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for information that describes the divisions (if any exist) of a state executive office. That information for the Texas Railroad Commission election, 2016 has not yet been added. After extensive research we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

Elections

Commissioners are elected to six-year staggered terms, with one commissioner up for election every two years.

Full history

2014

See also: Texas down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Republican Ryan Sitton won election on November 4, 2014.

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

To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of Texas Railroad Commissioner, click [show] to expand the section.

2012 See also: Texas state executive official elections, 2012 Incumbent Buddy Garcia (R) did not seek re-election. He was appointed to the post by Gov. Rick Perry (R) in April 2012 to fill the vacancy left by Elizabeth Ames Jones (R), who resigned to run for Texas State Senate. Garcia was only appointed to serve until the November 6 general election. The winner, Christi Craddick (R), received a full six-year term on the commission. Texas Railroad Commissioner 2 General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Christi Craddick 56.2% 4,336,499      Democratic Dale Henry 39.6% 3,057,733      Libertarian Vivekananda Wall 2.2% 173,001      Green Chris Kennedy 2% 153,664 Total Votes 7,720,897 Election results via Texas Secretary of State Incumbent Barry Smitherman (R) was elected on November 6, 2012. Smitherman was originally appointed to serve out the remaining two years of the term left by commissioner of Michael Williams, who resigned to run for Congress. Texas Railroad Commissioner 3 General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Barry Smitherman Incumbent 73.8% 4,537,625      Libertarian Jaime Perez 18.3% 1,127,074      Green Josh Wendel 7.9% 486,485 Total Votes 6,151,184 Election results via Texas Secretary of State 2010 On November 2, 2010, David Porter won election to the office of Texas Railroad Commissioner. He defeated Jeff Weems (D), Roger Gary (L) and Art Browning (G) in the general election. Texas Railroad Commissioner, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican David Porter 59.4% 2,880,765      Democratic Jeff Weems 36.2% 1,757,183      Libertarian Roger Gary 2.9% 138,978      Green Art Browning 1.5% 72,291 Total Votes 4,849,217 Election results via Texas Secretary of State. 2008 On November 4, 2008, Michael L. Williams won re-election to the office of Texas Railroad Commissioner. He defeated Mark Thompson (D) and David Floyd (L) in the general election. Texas Railroad Commissioner, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Michael L. Williams Incumbent 52.1% 4,003,789      Democratic Mark Thompson 44.4% 3,406,174      Libertarian David Floyd 3.5% 270,078 Total Votes 7,680,041 Election results via Texas Secretary of State. 2006 On November 7, 2006, Elizabeth Ames Jones won re-election to the office of Texas Railroad Commissioner. She defeated Dale Henry (D) and Tabitha Serrano (L) in the general election. Texas Railroad Commissioner, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Elizabeth Ames Jones Incumbent 54% 2,269,743      Democratic Dale Henry 41.7% 1,752,947      Libertarian Tabitha Serrano 4.2% 177,648 Total Votes 4,200,338 Election results via Texas Secretary of State. 2004 On November 2, 2004, Victor G. Carrillo won re-election to the office of Texas Railroad Commissioner. He defeated Bob Scarborough (D) and Anthony Garcia (L) in the general election. Texas Railroad Commissioner, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Victor G. Carrillo Incumbent 55.5% 3,891,482      Democratic Bob Scarborough 40.9% 2,872,717      Libertarian Anthony Garcia 3.6% 252,497 Total Votes 7,016,696 Election results via Texas Secretary of State. 2002 On November 5, 2002, Michael L. Williams won re-election to the office of Texas Railroad Commissioner. He defeated Sherry Boyles (D), Nazirite R. Flores Perez (L) and Charles L. Mauch (G) in the general election. Texas Railroad Commissioner, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Michael L. Williams Incumbent 54.8% 2,407,036      Democratic Sherry Boyles 41.5% 1,821,751      Libertarian Nazirite R. Flores Perez 2.5% 110,160      Green Charles L. Mauch 1.2% 52,322 Total Votes 4,391,269 Election results via Texas Secretary of State. 2000 On November 7, 2000, Charles R. Matthews won re-election to the office of Texas Railroad Commissioner. He defeated Carolyn Fields (L) and Gary Dugger (G) in the general election. Texas Railroad Commissioner, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Charles R. Matthews Incumbent 77% 3,633,901      Libertarian Carolyn Fields 15.7% 738,634      Green Gary Dugger 7.3% 344,820 Total Votes 4,717,355 Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Texas Railroad Commission election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Texas Railroad Commission election, 2016 - Google News

State profile

Demographic data for Texas
	Texas	U.S.
Total population:	27,429,639	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	261,232	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	74.9%	73.6%
Black/African American:	11.9%	12.6%
Asian:	4.2%	5.1%
Native American:	0.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	38.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	81.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27.6%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$53,207	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	19.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Texas

Texas voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Texas, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Texas had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

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• State executive official elections, 2015
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