Don’t let the office’s title mislead you: The Railroad Commission has nothing to do with trains. Rather, the commission is charged with regulating the state’s oil and gas industry. Up against incumbent Christi Crad­dick on the GOP side is Weston Martinez, a conservative San Antonio oil and gas industry water supplier who proudly touts his endorsements of Ted Cruz and Trump. On the Democratic side, Chris Spellmon, a Houstonian who’s worked on several Dem campaigns and criticizes fracking and air pollution, competes with Roman McAllen, a former Brownsville city planner who calls for eliminating freshwater for fracking; cronyism controls at the RRC; and a commission name change to, you know, actually reflect what the agency does.

This article appears in February 9 • 2018.

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