Christian Primary Foe Gives GOP
Cowgirl Ride in Ad for RRC Race

Capitol Inside
February 14, 2022

Texas Republicans have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to replace a Christian with a Unicorn in the competition for railroad commissioner with Monahans attorney Sarah Stogner as the hottest candidate on the primary ballot by far in 2022 in more ways than one.

The San Antonio Express-News hailed Stogner as a breath of fresh air this past weekend when it endorsed her campaign for the seat that Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian is fighting to defend as a forefather of the far right in the Lone Star State.

A Monahans attorney who's represented in Austin by Republican State Rep. Brooks Landgraf of Odessa, Stogner hadn't raised a dime for the statewide bid by the final week of January. But she appears to be gambling that going viral will trump campaign cash in the new GOP with a new advertisement that shows her riding an oil pump jack with nothing on but her panties and a cowboy hat.

"They said I needed money," Stogner said on Sunday when she debuted the digital commercial complete with an emoji that appears to be crying and laughing simultaneously. "I have other assets."

Stogner is vowing to restore ethics and integrity to a regulatory agency that's catered to the industry that it regulates. She's attempting to turn the incumbent's massive advantage in fundraising into a fatal liability by focussing on contributions that his critics have been portraying as payoffs even though they could be perfectly legal on paper.

While Stogner's formal nickname is the Unicorn, she characterized herself in a Twitter post as Lady Godiva "on a pump jack" that she accompanied with a picture of a painting that shows the legendary British noblewoman who made a name for herself with naked horseback rides to protest high taxation and tyranny in the 11th Century.

"My goal is to draw attention to the issues," Stogner said in attempt to explain her novel campaign strategy. "Use social media or it will use you. Next gen government must be fierce and fearless.  (https://history.com/news/who-was-lady-godiva…)
Now that I’ve got your attention:"

history.com Who was Lady Godiva?

Christian - a former state representative who'd been a folk hero among right wingers - had appeared to have a decent shot at winning the GOP primary election outright on March 1. The list of Republican challengers in the statewide race for the RRC includes Tom Slocum Jr. and Dawayne Tipton. Marvin "Sarge" Summers had been a candidate as well before he died in a car wreck last week.

Tipton received a boost last week when the Dallas Morning News endorsed his candidacy amid a recommendation that Texas voters fire Christian as a result of behavior that failed to past the smell test in the newspaper's view.

more to come ...