Texas GOP picks Sitton as railroad commissioner

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Oil engineer Ryan Sitton has overcome a big deficit in the March primary to win a runoff for the Republican nomination for railroad commissioner.

Sitton is the CEO of energy consultant PinnacleAIS and has never held elected office. He trailed former Texas House lawmaker Wayne Christian by 12 points after the primary and focused his campaign on being the only candidate with experience in the energy sector.

The railroad commissioner is the state’s chief energy regulator.

Christian was backed by tea party-aligned groups and played up praise from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s father.

Sitton will face Democrat Steve Brown in November. The winner will replace Barry Smitherman, who lost a bid to move up the GOP political ladder by finishing last in the primary race for attorney general.  

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Robert is a Fort Worth native and longtime editor of the Fort Worth Business Press. He is a former president of the local Society of Professional Journalists and was a freelancer for a variety of newspapers, weeklies and magazines, including American Way, BrandWeek and InformatonWeek. A graduate of TCU, Robert has held a variety of writing and editing positions at publications such as the Grand Prairie Daily News and InfoWorld. He is also a musician and playwright.