Wright succeeds Midland’s Craddick as chair of Railroad Commission

Jim Wright, commissioner of the Railroad Commission of Texas, was elected chair at the commission’s meeting Wednesday in Austin.  He succeeds Midland’s Christi Craddick as chair.  A resident of Orange Grove, Wright was elected to the commission in November 2020.  A graduate of Midland High School and University of Texas, Craddick said in March she will be a candidate for Texas comptroller in elections in 2026.

Wright was elected commissioner in November 2021 after an upset win over incumbent Ryan Sitton in the Republican primary.  A fifth-generation Texas rancher, he began work in the energy industry at the age of 19 and later created a group of environmental management companies that service the energy industry.  “I look forward to working with my fellow commissioners, state leadership and our federal partners to ensure Texas energy continues to be the envy of the world,” Wright said.  “Working together, our state’s clean and abundant natural resources will fuel America’s economy and help secure the growing energy needs here at home and abroad.”