In addition to the races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, four other key state offices are also up for re-election on Election Day.
All four offices — comptroller, land commissioner, railroad commissioner and agriculture commissioner — currently have Republican leadership, three of them are running for reelection and facing Democratic challengers. One, the land commissioner, has no incumbent in the race.
The Democrat challengers are facing an uphill climb as no Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994.
RACE FOR TEXAS AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER
The Texas Department of Agriculture is currently led by Commissioner Sid Miller, who is seeking his third term.
Miller is challenged by Democrat Susan Hays who told the Dallas Morning News she was running “because of the incompetency and corruption of the incumbent, and my frustration at watching all the missed opportunities for rural Texas and our food supply.”
Over the years Miller has been accused of mismanagement, corruption and improper conduct, but said the allegations were politically motivated.
In April he urged Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to walk back the inspections he ordered that led to hours and hours of delays for trucks crossing the border. Miller questioned what the governor’s holdout achieved, and in the case of Abbott’s agreement with Nuevo Leon, said it did not appear substantive and there was no enforcement.
According to the agency’s website, the TDA was created “to promote production agriculture, consumer protection, economic development and healthy living.” The agriculture commissioner is elected every four years. Miller was first elected in 2014 and reelected in 2018.
RACE FOR TEXAS LAND COMMISSIONER
The Texas General Land Office is currently led by Commissioner George P. Bush, who is not seeking reelection after stepping down to run for Texas Attorney General. Bush did not advance past incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton in the March primary.
Hoping to fill Bush’s spot at the Texas GLO are Republican Dawn Buckingham, Democrat Jay Kleberg and Green party candidate Alfred Molison.
Republican Dawn Buckingham is a doctor and member of the Texas Senate since 2017. She was the first Republican from Travis County ever elected to the State Senate and the first woman to be elected to represent District 24. Buckingham’s biography said she’s served as a volunteer firefighter, graduated from the Texas A&M Fire School, and is an avid hunter and outdoorswoman. Buckingham told our partners at the Dallas Morning News that she loved serving in the State Senate but felt like she was the best person to fill the void left by Bush.
Democrat Jay Kleberg, a King Ranch scion, is also a conservationist, film producer and former associate director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. Kleberg told our partners at the Dallas Morning News that he’d bring more than a decade of land management experience and “a deep understanding of our state’s challenges” to the GLO. He counted George H.W. Bush among his most admired political leaders and said he plans to return the GLO to an agency that respects the land, honors veterans and helps fund the future of Texas children.
According to the agency’s website, the Texas GLO is the oldest state agency in Texas and “primarily serves the schoolchildren, veterans, and the environment of Texas … through the stewardship of state lands and natural resources.”
RACE FOR TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSIONER
Wayne Christian is the current Chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas. Three Texas railroad commissioners are elected statewide to six-year, staggered terms. The chairman is chosen by the commissioners. One commissioner position is on the ballot every two years.
Christian is seeking his second term on the commission, having been first elected in 2016. Christian is a former state representative and served as the president of the Texas Conservative Coalition. Christian nearly punched his ticket for November in the March primary, but with only 47% of the vote in a field of five candidates, he fell three points short and was forced into a runoff with Sarah Stogner.
Christian is facing three challengers, Democrat Luke Warford, Libertarian Jaime Diez and Green party candidate Hunter Crow, on Tuesday.
Christan told the Dallas Morning News he wants to lead a conservative Railroad Commission that would continue to push back against overreach from the Biden Administration while working to modernize the agency.
Warford told our partners at the Dallas Morning News that he was running for office because of the power grid failure and hundreds of Texans who died after the 2021 winter storm “and because when the power was out, the Commissioners focused on making billions in profits for their campaign donors and passing those costs on to consumers instead of working tirelessly to get the grid back online.” Warford said the commission needs to embrace technology and innovation to keep Texas an energy leader.
According to the agency’s website, the Railroad Commission of Texas “is the state agency with primary regulatory jurisdiction over the oil and natural gas industry, pipeline transporters, natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline industry, natural gas utilities, the LP-gas industry, and coal and uranium surface mining operations.”
RACE FOR TEXAS COMPTROLLER
Republican Glenn Hegar has been the state’s comptroller since 2014 and is seeking his third term.
According to the agency’s website, “the comptroller is Texas’ chief tax collector, accountant, revenue estimator, treasurer and purchasing manager, the agency is responsible for writing the checks and keeping the books for the multi-billion-dollar business of state government.”
Janet Dudding is the Democratic party’s choice to unseat Hegar. Dudding is a CPA who has spent her career auditing and accounting for state and local governments.
Libertarian Alonzo Echeverria-Garza is also running for Texas Comptroller.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Results from the above races will be embedded in this story after the polls close Tuesday night.
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