Sarah Stogner endorses Democrat Luke Warford for railroad commissioner

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Sarah Stogner, the previous Republican candidate for railroad commissioner who compelled incumbent Wayne Christian to a runoff and made waves for driving a pumpjack virtually bare in a memorable marketing campaign advert, is backing the Democratic nominee for the seat.

Stogner on Monday endorsed Luke Warford over Christian, a former state consultant who was first elected to the Railroad Commission in 2016. She mentioned in an interview that Texas’ vitality business is “too important to let corrupt career politicians stay in office, and I’m taking a stand against it.”

Stogner, an oil and gasoline legal professional, misplaced to Christian by double digits within the runoff. Her marketing campaign turned heads not solely for the racy ad but in addition $2 million in funding she bought from a West Texas rancher and buddy who had been battling the Railroad Commission over deserted oil wells on her property.

Stogner mentioned she was supporting Warford, a former state Democratic Party staffer working on fixing the ability grid, as a result of she merely believed he would do the job higher. She additionally mentioned in an announcement that he’s not “your typical Democrat,” calling him “pragmatic and pro-business.”

“For months, Sarah Stogner lied to voters about her party affiliation and political beliefs,” Christian mentioned in an announcement. “Now that Republicans have rejected her radical agenda, it is no surprise she would support her party’s nominee.”

Stogner’s endorsement comes as one other Democratic statewide candidate, Mike Collier, has additionally been choosing up Republican endorsements, most recently from former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff on Thursday.

Asked if she nonetheless thought-about herself a Republican, Stogner mentioned she felt politically “homeless” proper now however remains to be a “conservative.” She emphasised that her endorsement of Warford doesn’t imply she is voting for the highest-profile Democrat working statewide, gubernatorial hopeful Beto O’Rourke.

“Until we have better options, I’m not sticking to the party line,” Stogner mentioned, referring to her attention-getting advert and expressing hope that voters would deal with coverage related to the fee this fall. “Let’s get over the tits and look at the issues.”