Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal is running for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.
Rosenthal faces Republican Bo French and Libertarian Arthur DiBianca. Republican Jim Wright lost a GOP primary runoff to French. Rosenthal is not seeking reelection to House District 135, which he has represented since 2019.
In a candidate questionnaire, Rosenthal said the commission should serve the people of Texas, not "big-money interests or partisan political bosses." He said he has more than 25 years of oil and gas industry experience.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Office sought: Texas Railroad Commissioner
- Current office: State representative, Texas House District 135 (since 2019)
- Education: Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, University of Texas at Austin (1991); graduate certificate in subsea engineering, University of Houston (2016)
- Residence: Northwest Houston (since 2007)
- Family: Married to Aminta; two adult children, Janet and Bryan
Experience and public service
Rosenthal has served on the Energy Resources and Intergovernmental Affairs committees and as vice chair of the Redistricting Committee in the Texas House. During the 2019 legislative session, the Legislative Study Group named him Freshman of the Year, according to his official House biography.
His House biography describes him as one of only three practicing engineers in the Texas House and "the only mechanical engineer serving in the body."
Rosenthal said that before entering public office, he worked as a rig equipment engineer, project manager, engineering manager and senior subsea systems engineer. He said his work spanned upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Employers listed on his BallotReady profile included Oceaneering, National Oilwell Varco, OneSubsea and RETSCO Limited.
On the issues
Agency funding and orphan wells: Rosenthal said in the questionnaire that his first priority would be advocating for a "significant funding increase" for the Railroad Commission. The agency is dramatically underfunded, he said, and lacks the resources to monitor and inspect oil and gas facilities and plug orphan and zombie wells. He said he would streamline permitting and reduce fees for responsible operators while holding repeat violators accountable through increased fines and surety bonding requirements.
He proposed spreading liability for orphan and zombie wells among prior operators and raising wages to attract and retain staff.
Weatherization and grid reliability: Rosenthal said in the questionnaire that the 2021 Winter Storm Uri grid failure "was largely driven by failed natural gas delivery." The commission should work with industry on weatherizing critical natural gas systems and improving emergency access, he said. His campaign website goes further, calling for weatherization mandates with deadlines, third-party audits and fines. The website also proposes publishing site-level compliance scorecards so communities can see which operators are prepared for extreme weather.
Consumer protection on gas utility bills: Rosenthal's campaign website proposes stricter prudence reviews before gas utilities recover extraordinary costs from customers and blocking recovery of costs caused by negligence. The website also calls for line-item explanations of riders and storm charges in plain language on bills and hedging and storage standards to smooth volatile prices.
Government reform: Rosenthal said in the questionnaire that he favors banning industry donations to railroad commissioner campaigns. He said he would restore public comment to regular open meetings and hold community listening sessions. His campaign website adds broader transparency measures, including publishing calendars, meetings and recusals and livestreaming enforcement hearings.
Clean air and water: Rosenthal's campaign website calls for ending routine flaring and venting except in true emergencies, modern leak-detection requirements and groundwater safeguards including baseline water testing around high-risk operations.
Rosenthal and French have agreed to debate at 5 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Dallas Press Club, Rosenthal said on social media, according to the Texas Tribune. The Tribune reported the debate will be livestreamed.
