Look up your representatives in the Tribune’s elected officials directory
Look up information about every statewide elected official, every member of the Texas Legislature and every Texan in Congress and see who represents you. Full Story
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![The Texas House of Representatives on Jan. 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Greg Abbott calls for investigation into Atmos Energy following disrupted natural gas services during freeze
Atmos, a major natural gas provider for the state, apologized for last week’s service disruption that left some Texans without heat during freezing weather. Full Story
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![The Dallas skyline is barely visible from Winfrey Point in Dallas on Dec. 22, 2022. Temperatures dropped from 45 degrees at 9 a.m. to 25 degrees shortly before noon.]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Republican Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian wins reelection
Christian chairs the three-member board that oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry. Full Story
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![Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian speaks during a Republican Railroad Commission Forum hosted by the Republican Women of Red River Valley at Celebrate It, an event hall in Paris, Texas, on April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Wayne Christian retracts “only Christian on the ballot” slogan after outcry from Jewish opponent Luke Warford
Christian, who’s running for reelection to the Texas Railroad Commission, said he did not realize Warford was Jewish and would stop using the slogan, which he’s used for previous campaigns. Full Story
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![Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian listens to opponent and candidate Sarah Stogner speak during a Republican Railroad Commission Forum hosted by the Republican Women of Red River Valley at Celebrate It, an event hall in Paris, Texas, on April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Luke Warford tries to break the Republican hold on the Railroad Commission by focusing on the power grid and climate change
One of three seats on the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the oil and gas industry, is up for grabs this election. Democrat Luke Warford is betting his campaign on the issues of electric grid reliability, regulatory enforcement and reducing emissions. Full Story
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![Democratic candidate for Texas Railroad Commission Luke Warford speaks at a Beto O'Rourke rally in Austin on Sept. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Sarah Stogner, former GOP candidate for railroad commissioner, backs Democratic nominee in November’s election
Stogner, who lost in a Republican primary runoff to incumbent Wayne Christian, said she’s endorsing Luke Warford. Full Story
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![Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, far-left, and candidate Sarah Stogner, far-right, speak during a Republican Railroad Commission Forum hosted by the Republican Women of Red River Valley at Celebrate It event hall in Paris, Texas, on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Texas gas companies face fines up to $1 million for failing to prepare for extreme weather
Critics are skeptical about whether the new rules by the Railroad Commission will prevent another catastrophe like the power grid disaster in February 2021. Full Story
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Texas will plug 800 abandoned oil and gas wells, funded by $25 million federal infrastructure grant
The initial grant will allow Texas to plug a fraction of the state’s approximately 7,400 documented abandoned oil and gas wells. Full Story
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![Brackish water flows from an unplugged abandoned well outside Imperial in Pecos County — one of several in the area likely drilled for oil but later tapped for water.]()
Credit: Rafael Aguilera for The Texas Tribune -
How to know the difference between a local power outage and rolling blackouts
Power outages are a possibility during any severe weather event. But a local power outage is different from a larger power grid problem. Full Story
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![Electrical power lines near the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center in Del Valle on March 24, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Wayne Christian secures GOP nomination for another term on the commission regulating Texas’ oil and gas industry
Christian beat Sarah Stogner in the Republican primary runoff for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission after she accused him of corruption during the campaign. Full Story
![Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian listens to opponent and candidate Sarah Stogner speak during a Republican Railroad Commission Forum hosted by the Republican Women of Red River Valley at Celebrate It, an event hall in Paris, Texas, on April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
West Texas rancher pours $2 million into Sarah Stogner’s underdog campaign for statewide oil and gas board seat
Ashley Watt, who owns a 75,000-acre ranch in the Permian Basin, is helping bankroll a substantial TV ad buy in the final two weeks before Stogner faces the Railroad Commission’s chair, Wayne Christian, in the runoff. Full Story
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![Railroad Commissioner candidate Sarah Stogner waits to speak at a Republican Railroad Commission Forum alongside incumbent Wayne Christian at Celebrate It, an event hall in Paris, Texas, on April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
In Railroad Commission runoff, GOP candidates court North Texas voters — who want them to change agency’s confusing name
Incumbent Wayne Christian and oil and gas lawyer Sarah Stogner pitched voters in Paris, Texas, ahead of the May 24 election. Early voting runs May 16-20. Full Story
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![Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, left, and candidate Sarah Stogner, speak during a Republican Railroad Commission Forum at Celebrate It, an event hall in Paris, Texas, on April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Wayne Christian, incumbent commissioner overseeing oil and gas industry, is headed to a runoff
The chair of the Texas Railroad Commission fell short of winning at least 50% of the vote and will face oil and gas attorney Sarah Stogner in May. Full Story
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![Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian will face Sarah Stogner in the Republican runoff.]()
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A semi-nude video, corruption allegations and a fatal crash roil GOP primary for Texas Railroad Commission
The oldest state regulatory agency, in charge of how oil and gas are produced and transported, doesn’t typically attract much attention at election time. This year is different. Full Story
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![Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian gives his speech during the second day of the Texas Republican Convention in San Antonio on June 15, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
How Texas’ power grid failed in 2021 — and who’s responsible for preventing a repeat
In the state’s power grid, electricity and natural gas are co-dependent. Here’s how the winter storm last year broke the system. Full Story
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![Diagram of how the Texas power grid works and the role of natural gas]()
Credit: Illustration by Emily Albracht -
400,000 Texas homes and businesses could lose power over financial dispute between energy companies
Vistra Corp. asked the Railroad Commission of Texas to prevent Energy Transfer LP from cutting off fuel to five of its power plants on Monday. Vistra said the power supply to at least 400,000 homes and businesses could be impacted. Full Story
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![Luminant staff and media walk past a combustion turbine rotor at Vistra Corp.’s Midlothian Power Plant during a tour of the plant on October 15, 2021. The combustion turbine rotor is receiving an upgrade will provide 18 additional megawatts, enough to power 10,000 homes.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Betting a Texas election on a weather forecast
Gov. Greg Abbott says he can "guarantee" there won't be blackouts this winter in Texas after one that knocked out power for some people for four days last February. That's the kind of pre-election prediction that can make a weather forecaster more useful than a political poll. Full Story
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![Power lines along a row of homes in South Austin. Many residents experienced power outages due to the winter storm that rolled through Texas. Feb. 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas regulators pass rule aimed at preventing natural gas producers from having power cut off during future winter storms
But Texas oil and gas regulators addressed only part of the problem that led millions of Texans to lose power for days after February’s winter storm, and gas producers likely won’t be required to weatherize until 2023. Full Story
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![Wayne Christian, Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, and Commissioner Jim Wright listen during an RRC hearing in the William B. Travis building in Austin on Nov. 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Dimitri Staszewski for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: 2022 primary elections in Texas merit a severe weather alert
Next year’s primary elections start a year after a winter storm knocked out power across Texas — and the government response to that disaster could be on voters’ minds. Full Story
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![The Blanco Vista neighborhood of San Marcos is blanketed with several inches of snow as a massive winter weather system causes power outages across Texas on Feb. 15, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Democrat running for Texas agency that regulates the energy industry focusing his campaign on furor over power grid failure
Luke Warford, a 32-year-old former Texas Democratic Party staffer, is challenging Republican incumbent Wayne Christian for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission. Full Story
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Credit: Courtesy of Luke Warford
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