Wayne Christian

Republican Party

Texas Railroad Commission

Tenure

2017 - Present

Term ends

2029

Years in position

9

Predecessor:David Porter (R)

Prior offices:

Texas House of Representatives District 9

Years in office: 1997 - 2013

Successor:Chris Paddie (R)

Compensation

Base salary

$140,937

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Stephen F. Austin University, 1973

Personal

Religion

Christian: Baptist

Profession

Business owner

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign X

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal YouTube

Personal LinkedIn

Wayne Christian (Republican Party) is a member of theTexas Railroad Commission. He assumed office on January 1, 2017. His current term ends on January 1, 2029.

Christian (Republican Party) ran for re-election to theTexas Railroad Commission. He won in the general election onNovember 8, 2022.

Christian was also a formerRepublican candidate forTexas Railroad Commission in the2014 elections and a formerRepublican member of theTexas House of Representatives, representing District 9 from 1997-2013.

First elected to the House in 1996, Christian is a prominent conservative in Texas politics and is president of the Texas Conservative Coalition^[1]. He was vice chairman of the House Committee on Financial Institutions and a member of the Calendars Committee, the Human Services Committee and the House Rural Caucus.^[2]

Biography

Christian owns an investment company and is a registered representative of Sun America Securities Inc. ofCenter, Texas. The representative was born in Center, raised in nearbyTenaha, Texas, and now lives in Center.^[3]

He is a 1973 graduate ofStephen F. Austin State University inNacogdoches, where he received a bachelor's degree in business and minored in marketing. The university is in Christian's state House district, and his official online biography highlights his efforts in passing a bill to allow the university to renovate its student center.^[4]

Political career

Texas Railroad Commission (2017-present)

Christian won election to theTexas Railroad Commission on November 8, 2016. He was sworn into office on January 9, 2017.^[5]

Texas House of Representatives (1997-2013)

Christian represented District 9 of theTexas House of Representatives from 1997 to 2013.

Elections

2022

See also: Texas Railroad Commissioner election, 2022

General election

General election for Texas Railroad Commission

IncumbentWayne Christian defeatedLuke Warford,Jaime Díez, andHunter Crow in the general election for Texas Railroad Commission on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wayne Christian (R)	55.4	4,401,187
		Luke Warford (D)	40.5	3,222,305
		Jaime Díez (L)	3.0	239,489
		Hunter Crow (G)	1.1	85,570

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,948,551
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Texas Railroad Commission

IncumbentWayne Christian defeatedSarah Stogner in the Republican primary runoff for Texas Railroad Commission on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wayne Christian	65.0	574,573
		Sarah Stogner	35.0	308,859

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 883,432
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Railroad Commission

Luke Warford advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Railroad Commission on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Luke Warford	100.0	916,650

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 916,650
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Railroad Commission

IncumbentWayne Christian andSarah Stogner advanced to a runoff. They defeatedTom Slocum Jr.,Marvin Summers, andDawayne Tipton in the Republican primary for Texas Railroad Commission on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wayne Christian	47.4	775,679
✔		Sarah Stogner	15.0	244,949
		Tom Slocum Jr.	14.3	234,439
	Submit photo	Marvin Summers	11.9	194,099
		Dawayne Tipton	11.5	188,428

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,637,594
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Green convention

Green convention for Texas Railroad Commission

Hunter Crow advanced from the Green convention for Texas Railroad Commission on April 9, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Hunter Crow (G)

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas Railroad Commission

Jaime Díez advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas Railroad Commission on April 10, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Jaime Díez (L)

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Campaign finance

2016

See also:Texas Railroad Commission election, 2016

Christian filed to run as aRepublican candidate in the 2016 election for Texas Railroad Commission. He came in second in the primary election and, according to Texas law, proceeded to a runoff election as no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first primary. Christian defeatedGary Gates in the runoff election.

Wayne Christian defeatedGrady Yarbrough,Mark Miller, andMartina Salinas in the Texas railroad commission election.

Texas Railroad Commission, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Wayne Christian	53.07%	4,648,841
	Democratic	Grady Yarbrough	38.38%	3,362,041
	Libertarian	Mark Miller	5.28%	462,251
	Green	Martina Salinas	3.28%	287,105
Total Votes				8,760,238
Source:Texas Secretary of State

Texas Railroad Commission, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Gary Gates	28.4%	586,846
Wayne Christian	19.7%	408,056
Ron Hale	14.7%	303,847
Lance Christian	12.1%	250,523
Weston Martinez	10.1%	208,710
Doug Jeffrey	9.3%	192,999
John Greytok	5.7%	117,125
Total Votes		2,068,106
Election results viaTexas Secretary of State.

Runoff primary election

Texas Railroad Commission, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Wayne Christian	51.1%	192,217
Gary Gates	48.9%	184,170
Total Votes		376,387
Election results viaTexas Secretary of State.

2014

See also:Texas down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Christian ran forelection to the office ofTexas Railroad Commission. Christian came in first for theRepublican nomination in the primary on March 4 and lost toRyan Sitton in a runoff on May 27.^[6] The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

• Primary

Texas Railroad Commissioner Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Wayne Christian	42.7%	503,634
Ryan Sitton	30.5%	360,125
Becky Berger	16.8%	198,672
Malachi Boyuls	10%	117,511
Total Votes		1,179,942
Election results viaTexas Secretary of State.

• Runoff

Texas Railroad Commissioner Republican Primary Runoff, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ryan Sitton	57.3%	400,259
Wayne Christian	42.7%	298,659
Total Votes		698,918
Election results viaTexas Secretary of State. Vote totals above are unofficial and reflect 98 precincts reporting.

Endorsements

• Texas Right to Life PAC^[7]

2012

See also:Texas House of Representatives elections, 2012

Christian ran in the2012 election forTexas House of Representatives, District 9. Christian was defeated byChris Paddie in the May 29 primary election.^[8][9][10]

Texas House of Representatives District 9 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Chris Paddie	52.2%	9,335
Wayne ChristianIncumbent	47.8%	8,558
Total Votes		17,893

2010

See also:Texas House of Representatives elections, 2010

Christian won re-election to the 9th District seat in 2010. He had no opposition in the March 2nd primary. He defeated DemocratKenneth Franks in the general election onNovember 2, 2010.^[11]

Texas House of Representatives, District 9 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Wayne Christian (R)		23,754	72.15%
Kenneth Franks (D)		9,169	27.84%

2008

On November 4, 2008, Christian won re-election to theTexas House of Representatives from Texas' 9th District, defeating Kenneth Franks (D) and Joe Allport (L).^[12]

Christian raised $193,267 for his campaign; Franks raised $4,355.^[13]

Texas House of Representatives, District 9
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Wayne Christian (R)		32,704	62.75%
Kenneth Franks (D)		18,448	35.39%
Joe Allport (L)		961	1.84%

2006

On November 4, 2006, Christian won election to theTexas House of Representatives, District 9, unopposed.^[14]

Christian raised $548,734 for his campaign.^[15]

Texas State House of Representatives, District 9 (2006)
Candidates		Votes
Wayne Christian (R)		20,838

2004

In 2004, Christian ran for the Republican nomination to represent District 1 in the United States House of Representatives. He lost the March 3 primary election to Louis Gohmert.

2002

On November 4, 2002, Christian won re-election to theTexas House of Representatives from Texas' 9th District, defeating Robin Moore (D).^[16]

Christian raised $232,533 for his campaign; Moore raised $272,578.^[17]

Texas House of Representatives, District 9
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Wayne Christian (R)		17,823
Robin Moore (D)		14,651

2000

On November 4, 2000, Christian won re-election to theTexas House of Representatives from Texas' 9th District, defeating Joseph Evans (D).^[18]

Christian raised $287,502 for his campaign; Evans raised $179,073.^[19]

Texas House of Representatives, District 9
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Wayne Christian (R)		24,625
Joe Evans (D)		19,817

1998

On November 4, 1998, Christian won re-election to theTexas House of Representatives from Texas' 9th District, defeating Colin Strother (D).^[20]

Christian raised $312,349 for his campaign; Strother raised $62,422.^[21]

Texas House of Representatives, District 9
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Wayne Christian (R)		16,646
Colin Strother (D)		12,781

1996

On November 4, 1996, Christian won election to theTexas House of Representatives from Texas' 9th District, defeating Judy McDonald (D).^[22]

Texas House of Representatives, District 9
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Wayne Christian (R)		20,979
Judy McDonald (D)		20,549

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Wayne Christian did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Christian's website included the following campaign themes:^[23]

Job Creation: Low Taxes and Commonsense Regulation

• Excerpt: "I have consistently fought for lower taxes on the individual and on job producing industries most important to East Texas, such as energy and agriculture."

Fighting for the Right to Life

• Excerpt: "I am unabashed in my stance for life and will continue to work hard to make sure that we limit the heinous practice of abortion as much as we can in our state, and I pledge to continue to seek and take away any tax dollars going towards or supporting abortion in our state."

Honoring the 2nd Amendment and Gun Rights

• Excerpt: "I have always and will continue to oppose any measure introduced in the Texas House which would restrict our Constitutional right to bear arms, and I will fully support legislation aimed at empowering law-abiding Texans to own, use, and enjoy firearms."

Protecting Private Property Rights

• Excerpt: "I have introduced legislation several times to end property taxes and find a more equitable solution to school finance. I do not believe that property owners should shoulder the tax burden for our schools alone"

Standing Against Illegal Immigration

• Excerpt: "I have coauthored legislation to make English the official language of our state, mandate the verification of an arrested person’s immigration status before they are released, require state agencies to study and report the effect of illegal immigration on their annual costs, issue driver’s licenses only to people who are lawfully allowed to work in this country, and repeal “in-state” tuition rates at our colleges and universities for illegal immigrants."

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

Noteworthy events

Christian was one of several Texas lawmakers named in the 2005 indictment ofTom Delay, thenU.S. House majority leader, inthe case that would eventually lead Delay to leave Congress. The indictment alleged no wrongdoing on Christian's part, but said he was one of several legislators to receive money in the 2002 election cycle from the Texas Association of Businesses, whom authorities alleged had illegally funneled corporate money to Republican candidates.^[24]

Christian also had ties toJohn Colyandro, who was indicted along with Delay and who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in the case in 2008. Colyandro is a former executive director of the Texas Conservative Coalition and a former officer of Delay's now-defunctAmericans for a Republican Majority, apolitical action committee that gave $2,500 to Christian's campaigns.^[25]

Christian sponsored a bill in the Texas House in 2009 that would have stripped the authority of theTravis County, Texas, district attorney to prosecute public corruption cases throughout Texas, a move that would have prevented the Austin-based DA from prosecuting politicians outside Austin, including Delay. The bill died.^[26]

Christian also received criticism in 2009 after theHouston Chronicle reported that he had helped craft an amendment allowing him to rebuild his vacation home onBolivar Peninsula, nearGalveston, after it was demolished byHurricane Ike. The reconstruction would otherwise have been prevented by state law banning construction on Texas beaches.^[27]

In an interview with the newspaper, Christian defended the move and denied it was a conflict of interest, saying, "If I were to pass a law that affected only Wayne Christian, that would be a conflict." The amendment in question, which affects only properties on the Bolivar Peninsula and was co-authored with state Rep.Mike Hamilton, would also help at least 12 of his neighbors rebuild their homes, Christian said.^[28]

Personal

Note: Pleasecontact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Christian is married to the former Lisa Lemoine ofShelbyville, Texas; they wed in 1975. They have three daughters, Liza, Lindsey and Lauren.^[29]

ASouthern Baptist, he is a member of theChristian Coalition,Promise Keepers andGideons International.^[30]

State legislative tenure

Sponsored legislation

• HB 425 - Relating to a prohibition against changing the name of certain public institutions of higher education that are named after state historical figures.
• HB 830 - Relating to drug testing of certain persons seeking or receiving financial assistance benefits.
• HB 1320 - Relating to creating an offense for engaging in certain conduct relating to cockfighting and to the criminal and civil consequences of committing that offense.
• HB 1400 - Relating to the creation of a public integrity unit in the office of the attorney general to prosecute offenses against public administration, including ethics offenses, and offenses involving insurance fraud.^[31]

Committee assignments

2011-2012

Wayne Christian served on the followingTexas House of Representatives committees:

• Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
• Ways & Means Committee

2009-2010

• Business & Industry Committee, Texas House
• Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Texas House (Vice Chair)

See also

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External links

Footnotes

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