Flaring central in vote for Texas regulator

摘要

A low-profile race unfolding in Texas could have an outsize impact on the energy industry and the environment. Texas voters are set to pick a new occupant for an open seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's top oil and gas regulator - and for the first time in recent memory in the staunchly conservative state, a Democrat looks to be competitive. "The Railroad Commission has not been on most people's radar because there's confusion about what it does, and it's so far down the ballot that most people are not playing close attention to it," said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston.