Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, defeated Republican candidate Bo French in his bid for a six-year term on the Texas Railroad Commission, according to Associated Press projections. Rosenthal will be the first Democrat to serve on the Commission since 1993.
Rosenthal led French by about 7 percentage points, according to the Associated Press at 2:40 a.m. on Wednesday.
The Texas Railroad Commission regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas. Rosenthal will serve on a three-member board, replacing James Wright, whom French beat by a single point in the Republican primary in May. The other two commissioners, both Republicans, took positions on the commission in 2012 and 2017.
“Tonight’s results show that experience and good governance matter,” Rosenthal wrote in an X post. “I will spend the next six years proving that your support was justified.”
Rosenthal’s priorities include increasing the Texas power grid’s reliability, affordable utility rates and guardrails for data centers, according to his campaign website.
Rosenthal’s campaign was thrust into the spotlight when his opponent posted a series of racist X posts criticizing UT’s South Asian student body in September. After Texas’ surprise victory over Ohio State, French took to X to critique the number of students in the stands.
Rosenthal raised six figures in less than 60 hours after French’s posts, writing, “The only color I saw on Saturday night was burnt orange” on X.
French still won out in fundraising, with over $3.5 million raised throughout the course of his campaign compared to Rosenthal’s approximately $1.2 million
“Tonight wasn’t the night our campaign had hoped for,” French wrote in a post on X. “To everyone who stood alongside us, gave your time, and believed in what we set out to accomplish, thank you.”
Rosenthal will begin his term Jan. 1, 2027, after Wright leaves office.
