Texas oil regulator sets new $9.2M fundraising record with energy industry support

The Texas Railroad Commission chair’s reelection campaign set a multimillion-dollar fundraising record with a quarter of that from the energy and natural resources sector, which the commission oversees.

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Christi Craddick, who is running for reeelection to the Texas Railroad Commission, on Oct. 10, 2018, in Houston, Texas. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

The incumbent chair of the Texas Railroad Commission, Texas’ state commission overseeing the oil and gas industry, set a new fundraising record this year, raising nearly $9.2 million as of July 15. At least a quarter of Chairwoman Christi Craddick’s total fundraising has come from donors in the energy and natural resources sector, which her agency regulates.

Craddick, seated on the commission since 2012, won her March primary with 50.4% of the vote. She broke the record that was set previously by her 2018 campaign, which raised over $6.1 million to resecure her position.

Railroad Commissioners in the state of Texas haven’t overseen railroads since at least 2005, and instead regulate oil, gas and mining in the state.

Commission Shift, a nonprofit organization aimed at the reformation of the oversight of oil and gas in the state, raised concern with the volume of contributions from donors within the oil and gas industry. The organization’s report, “Captive Agency,” highlights four instances where Craddick still participated in agency matters when she had a vested interest in the companies being examined and also received campaign contributions from them. 

Railroad commissioners, unlike other state-level elected positions in Texas, are allowed to collect campaign contributions throughout their entire term and are not limited to a defined window.

Craddick’s fundraising significantly dwarfs all of her opponents in the Republican primary and across the aisle. 

Republican challenger Petra Reyes, the second-biggest fundraiser in the race, managed to raise about $100,000 before losing the primary with 5% of the vote. 

Katherine Culbert, Craddick’s Democrat challenger in the general election, has raised about $13,000. Culbert also raised less than Bill Burch, the other Democrat in the race, who raised just shy of $66,000 before losing the primary to Culbert. Craddick’s reelection campaign is currently the eighth most funded state level race in 2024, surpassing that of higher profile seats like governors and attorneys general, even though Republicans have handily won these seats since at least 2000. 

While a quarter of Craddick’s industry donations came from donors in the energy and natural resources sector, 66% of her donations could not be properly associated with an economic sector, and multiple donations from donors within the energy and natural resources sector were not coded into that category due to an excess of occupations or employers listed. The majority of the donations that could be coded came from the energy and natural resources sector, nearly $2.9 million, where the next largest was construction at just over $286,000.

Craddick’s largest donor, Javaid Anwar, has donated a total of $435,000 to her campaign during the 2024 cycle. Anwar self-reports as the owner and president of Midland Energy, and his largest single donation totaled $250,000 during the cycle. Anwar was also Craddick’s largest donor in 2018, donating a total of $230,390.

The largest non-individual donation to Craddick’s campaign came from Ryan LLC, a Texas-based global tax services firm whose clients include most large oil and gas companies that make up the Fortune 200. The firm donated $150,000 to Craddick’s 2024 campaign, and  $85,000 to her previous campaigns.

The campaign also received a $50,000 donation from High Roller Group, an organization that Craddick previously received campaign funds from while determining the fate of its proposal to build an oil waste disposal site in western Texas, OpenSecrets reported. Even though she voted against the company, Craddick received a $25,000 donation from High Roller Group on the same day that the commission approved the company’s permit. This was on top of the combined $25,000 that the company donated to her earlier in 2019 and 2020, prior to the permit case. She also received donations from donors opposed to the permit request.

Craddick did not respond to requests for comment.

Beyond her contributions from the energy and natural resources sector, Craddick has also received more donations from her family members or businesses than her 2024 opponent has raised altogether.

Craddick received $5,000 from her father, Texas state Rep. Tom Craddick (R-Midland), $5,000 from Tom and Nadine Craddick as a couple, and three $10,000 donations from Craddick Properties LLC, a company owned by Tom Craddick. The donations from Tom Craddick did not come from his campaign committee, rather both were made as personal donations. Craddick hasn’t reported any self-funding for this race, though she had in previous campaigns.

On the other side of the aisle, Culbert’s biggest donation came in the form of $2,400 of self-funding. The bulk of her donations came from small dollar, individual contributions. Outside of her self-funding, Culbert only managed one other four-digit donation of $1,000 so far in her campaign.

Historically, Democrats running for the Texas Railroad Commission raise significantly less than their Republican counterparts. In 2018, Craddick far outraised her rivals, pulling in over $6.1 million. Her next closest funding competitor raised less than $40,000. 

In 2022, the most recent election for a seat on the commission, four Republicans ran for the position, raising a combined total just below $4.7 million. Only one Democrat ran, raising just shy of $1.1 million.

With the election still three months away, these fundraising totals are still climbing. The next campaign finance disclosures, which cover July 1 through September 26, are not due to be filed with the Texas Ethics Commission until Oct. 7.

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