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FORT WORTH — Republican Christi Craddick cruised to reelection, defeating three challengers to keep her seat on the state agency that regulates Texas’ oil and gas industry — one of the biggest fossil fuel industries in the world.

Craddick’s reelection comes as the commission struggles to keep up with the growing number of wells bursting with oilfield wastewater infused with toxic chemicals, which has led to groundwater from contamination.

“I am humbled and profoundly thankful to Texas voters for again electing me to the Railroad Commission, one of the most important pillars of Texas’ ongoing economic success and America’s national security. I look forward to continuing to serve our great state,” Craddick said on X.

The Midland native will serve a third six-year term on the commission. Craddick was first elected in 2012 and was chosen by her colleagues to serve as its chair.

Her leading opponent was Democrat Katherine Culbert. The oil and gas process safety engineer had not conceded as of Tuesday night. Culbert had been watching election returns all night and they’re not what she was hoping for.

“But I guess that’s how it goes,” she said from her watch party in Houston. “When you have the oil and gas industry in your back pocket. You are going to win the election.”

Craddick’s other opponents were Libertarian Hawk Dunlap, an oil well control specialist in West Texas and Eddie Espinoza, a retired school teacher and veteran of the Green Party.

The Railroad Commission is the oldest state regulatory agency, formed in the 1890s largely to regulate the state’s railroads. Today, the agency regulates oil and gas extraction and waste, pipelines, natural gas utilities, and coal and uranium surface mining operations in Texas. It’s also tasked with inspecting wells, enforcing pipeline safety rules, deciding who gets permits, fines, setting natural gas rates, and where companies inject their waste.

Three Republicans currently lead the regulatory commission including Craddick, Wayne Christian and Jim Wright. During their tenure, the agency has fought environmental and climate policies under the Biden-Harris administration, including a rule to cut ozone emissions from neighboring states and an endangered lizard designation.

Texas is one of a few states that elects its oil and gas regulators. Commissioners are elected to serve six-year terms, which are staggered so that one seat is on the ballot every two years. Texas Republicans have not lost a statewide race since 1994.

In 2023, Texas broke a record by producing 42% of the nation’s oil. The oil and gas sector highly influences the state’s financial health and job market. It also affects the environment. Oil and gas production releases greenhouse gases into the air, which contribute to climate change.

Recent geysers and pipeline fires gave this year’s Railroad Commission race a new prominence.

Texas has more than 9,000 orphan wells, which can sometimes leak or burst and emit toxic chemicals that can contaminate soil and groundwater. New wells are continually added to the list.

Last month in Toyah a well gushed out toxic water dozens of feet into the air for 19 days. Residents reported feeling ill and wore disposal masks to sleep. Research that ties wastewater injections to the increasing strength and frequency of earthquakes has also put the issue of these orphan wells more in the spotlight. And in September, a massive pipeline fire burned for days in the La Porte and Deer Park area, near Houston. The pipeline fire led to hundreds of evacuations and shelter-in-place advisories in the cities.

Craddick’s opponents said the regulatory agency is too lax and could do more to monitor orphan wells, protect groundwater and implement safeguards to prevent pipeline fires.

The Republican incumbent has also been criticized by her opponents for taking donations from the oil and gas industry, which she is tasked with regulating. Since 2019, Craddick has raised more than $10 million in her campaign for a third term on the commission, according to reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission analyzed by Inside Climate News. Commissioners can accept campaign contributions throughout their six-year terms in office.

Craddick’s campaign message centered on a conservative platform.

The 54-year-old Midland native started her career as an attorney specializing in oil and gas, water, electric deregulation and environmental policy.

During her time on the commission, she’s fought against what she describes as “Washington’s one-size-fits-all environmental policies,” saying federal regulations would kill jobs and stifle energy production growth. She opposes policies that she says undermine the state’s energy independence and positions herself as a defender of jobs and national security. Craddick has advocated for the recycling of fracking wastewater and has led the overhaul of the agency’s information technology systems.

She told the Tribune some of those upgrades have reduced permitting times significantly, in some cases allowing operators to receive a permit within 48 hours. And added that if elected to serve another term she would continue her work to streamline the permitting process and keep the economic engine of this state moving forward.

All candidates have called for renaming the Railroad Commission, arguing that it misleads voters about the agency’s role, which is unrelated to railroads.

Culbert, a 49-year-old Democrat and chemical engineer with 25 years of experience in pipeline safety, said she was frustrated by the commission’s lax regulatory enforcement and believes stronger safeguards are needed to prevent future pipeline incidents.

“[The Railroad Commission] should look at all of the valve stations around the state and make sure that they’re fortified a little better,” she said. “We need a regulatory body to actually regulate. They’re not making any changes based on past incidents.”

Dunlap, a 54-year-old Libertarian and fourth-generation oil worker, emphasized the need for transparency in the agency’s decision-making and pledged to push for a name change to better reflect the agency’s purpose.

He added that the agency should set better groundwater protections, stricter monitoring of plugged wells, and improved plugging practices.

“Just because you put cement in a well and you cut off the wellhead and throw some dirt on it, does not mean that the well is plugged,” he said.

Espinoza, a 54-year-old Green Party candidate and retired teacher, advocates for banning fracking, hiring more safety inspectors, and transitioning to 100% renewable energy.

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