ODESSA — The Republican primary election for a seat on the Texas governing board that regulates the oil and gas industry has oscillated from how the agency should bolster its regulatory force to a proposed crackdown on Islamic and Chinese influence in the state’s oil fields.
Four Republicans want to unseat Jim Wright, the incumbent who is at the end of his six-year term as one of three commissioners for the Texas Railroad Commission.
Most have argued that the agency must tighten the reins on the oil and gas industry. But one candidate thinks the agency has allowed diversity efforts and foreign influence to go unchecked, saying China is acquiring Texas land and expanding its influence on the state.
