Bo French defeats incumbent in GOP railroad commissioner primary

Local News Texas Republicans pick controversial outsider Bo French over incumbent in primary for railroad commissioner By Steven Rosenbaum, Steven Rosenbaum Digital Producer, CBS Texas Steven Rosenbaum is a digital producer for CBS Texas. A versatile journalist, Steven writes, edits and produces content for the CBS Texas digital platforms. Read Full Bio Steven Rosenbaum, Sergio Candido, Sergio Candido Managing Editor, South Sergio Candido is the managing editor for the South region at cbsnews.com, coordinating multiplatform news coverage for CBS Miami, CBS Texas and CBS Atlanta. He previously worked for outlets including Telemundo and The Miami Herald. Read Full Bio Sergio Candido, Matthew Ablon Matthew Ablon Matthew Ablon is a digital content producer for CBS Texas and the South region. Read Full Bio Matthew Ablon May 27, 2026 / 7:49 AM EDT / CBS Texas Add CBS News on Google Bo French will be the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner after Tuesday's primary runoff, defeating incumbent Jim Wright.The three-member Railroad Commission regulates the oil and natural gas industry in Texas, despite no longer overseeing railroads. The race evolved into one of the most closely watched Republican primaries in Texas this year, becoming a proxy fight over the direction of the Texas GOP.French defeated Wright by 1.2 percentage points, even though the incumbent had the backing of several of the state's most powerful Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, according to the Texas Tribune.Wright also had financial support from much of the oil and gas industry and major Republican donors, including Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson.French was backed by West Texas oil billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, influential conservative donors who have worked to move the Texas Republican Party further to the right. According to the Texas Tribune, Dunn and Wilks spent more than $1 million on TV ads supporting Fr...