Regulatory commissions in nine Southern and Midwest states faced voters Tuesday, with incumbents winning reelection in Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Montana and the Dakotas and losing or trailing in Arizona and Nebraska.
Louisiana
Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Mike Francis (R) bested a three-person field with 59% of the vote in his southwest Louisiana district, but incumbent Lambert Boissiere III is headed for a runoff against an environmental advocate, having failed to gain 50% of the vote in his District 3 election.
Boissiere, who has served on the PSC since 2005, took 43% of the vote in a five-person race, falling short of an outright win in the jungle primary. Davante Lewis secured 18% of the vote to advance to the Dec. 10 runoff against Boissiere.
Keep the Lights On, a super PAC aligned with the Environmental Defense Fund, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking Boissiere in the primary, NOLA.com said. Buoyed by donations from Entergy and others in the industry he regulates, Boissiere outspent Lewis, who is backed by the progressive group Voters Organized to Educate.
Texas
Republican Wayne Christian cruised to reelection for a second six-year term on Texas’ Railroad Commission, defeating Democratic challenger Luke Warford. With 88% of the vote counted Wednesday morning, Christian had a lead of 55% to Warford’s 40%.
Christian currently serves as the chair of the RRC, the state agency that regulates the state’s massive oil and gas industry. He has said his top three priorities for his next term are to increase domestic production of oil and natural gas, fight what he calls “the Biden administration’s overreach” and secure U.S. energy independence.
The RRC and its history of lax oversight found itself the subject of legislative oversight in the aftermath of the February 2021 winter storm, when freezing temperatures cut into the state’s natural gas production. Warford sought to link the power grid’s failure to Christian’s leadership of the commission.
The agency recently enacted new rules to prevent natural gas producers from having power cut off during weather emergencies, which helped contribute to fuel shortages at power plants during the storm.
The GOP swept the statewide ballot, as it has since 1994. Dawn Buckingham (R) will become the first woman elected as land commissioner, beating back a challenge by Democratic conservationist Jay Kleberg, whose family owns the storied King Ranch. Kleberg said that accepting the reality of climate change would allow him to use the agency’s assets to respond to hurricanes and other natural disasters, food, energy and wildlife diversity problems.
Oklahoma
Republican Kim David was elected to replace term-limited Dana Murphy on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. She outpolled Warigia Margaret Bowman (D), who teaches energy law at the University of Tulsa, by a 63%-30% margin.
A real estate agent and property manager, David was term-limited as a state senator.
Murphy, a familiar presence on SPP’s Regional State Committee, fell victim to a state constitutional amendment in 2020 that limited commission members to two terms. Murphy was first elected in 2010. She ran for lieutenant governor in 2018.
Arizona
Republican candidates Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers have taken a slim lead in the race for two seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission. With about 66% of the ballots counted as of early Wednesday morning, Thompson and Myers have 26% and 25.9% of the vote, respectively. Sandra Kennedy (D), the only incumbent on the ballot, trails with 24.9%.
If Thompson and Myers hold on to their leads, it would increase the ACC’s Republican majority to 4-1, leaving Anna Tovar as the lone Democrat. She is up for re-election in 2024. A $460 million rate case from Arizona Public Service awaits the new commission.
Montana
Incumbent Randy Pinocci (R) won a second four-year term to the state’s Public Service Commission. He won 97% of the vote in an uncontested race, having beaten a Republican challenger during the primary. Pinocci will be unable to run again for eight years, under Montana state rules.
Montana PSC candidate Ann Bukacek | Bukacek campaignAnn Bukacek (R) is leading the race to replace PSC vice chair Brad Johnson, who is term-limited. Bukacek leads Democrat John Repke, 55%-45%, with 26 of 102 precincts reporting full results.
Bukacek, a doctor, campaigned on preserving and expanding hydroelectric and coal-fired power, using the slogan “Let’s keep the lights on.”
North Dakota
North Dakota voters re-elected Public Service Commission Chair Julie Fedorchak (R) to another six-year term.
Fedorchak, past president of the Organization of MISO States, defeated Melanie Moniz (D) with 71% of the vote.
Sheri Haugen-Hoffart (R) won a special election to serve the remaining four years of a six-year term after being appointed to the PSC earlier.
She took 70% of the vote against Democratic challenger Trygve Hammer.
South Dakota
South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Chair Chris Nelson (R) was re-elected to a third three-year term, defeating challenger Jeff Barth (D), a 16-year member of the Minnehaha County Commission. Nelson, a two-time secretary of state before winning election to the PUC in 2010, won with 69% of the vote in the two-man race.
Nebraska
In Nebraska, Eric Kamler (R) and Kevin Stocker (R) won uncontested district seats for six-year terms on the Public Service Commission. Kamler defeated incumbent Rod Johnson and Stocker unseated vice chair Mary Ridder during the Republican primary in May. Kamler won 57% of the vote while Stocker took 43% in a three-way race.
Alabama
In Alabama, incumbent Public Service Commissioner Jeffrey Oden (R) beat Libertarian Ron Bishop 84% to 14%, while Republican Chris Beeker (R) defeated Libertarian Laura Lane by a similar margin.
