Oil and gas producing states elected several new members of the U.S. House and Senate in 2020.
TEXAS
Rep. Pat Fallon, R-TX-4
After receiving an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force, Fallon embarked on a 25-year entrepreneurial journey and now owns several companies. He served in the Texas House of Representatives for six years and on the Frisco City Council for three. He was Mayor Pro Tem of the city from 2011-12. In May 2012, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, and in 2018 was elected to the Texas Senate.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-TX-13
Dr. Ronny Jackson is a retired Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy. He joined the White House Medical Unit in the mid-2000s. His last duty assignment was at the White House, where he served as Assistant to the President and as the appointed Chief Medical Advisor to President Trump.
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-TX-22
From 2013 to 2021, Nehls served as the sheriff of Fort Bend County, TX. From 2004 to 2012, he served two terms as the elected Constable for Fort Bend County Precinct Four. His congressional campaign focused on improving mental and physical healthcare for veterans and protecting oil and gas jobs in Texas.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-TX-23
Gonzales deployed multiple times in Iraq, Afghanistan and in support of regional security operations throughout Asia. He previously served on Capitol Hill as a Department of Defense Legislative Fellow in U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s office. In 2018, Gonzales was selected as a National Security Fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and was elected as the Community Representative for the City of San Antonio Head Start Policy Council.
OKLAHOMA
Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-OK-5
Bice was elected to the state Senate in 2014 where she served two years as Assistant Majority Floor Leader and Chair of the Senate Finance Committee. During her time in the state Senate, Bice focused on affordable healthcare and limiting immigration. She also supports investing in vocational training to expand Oklahoma’s skilled workforce.
NEW MEXICO
Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-NM
Luján served as the U.S. Representative of New Mexico’s third congressional district from 2009 to 2021 and the assistant House Democratic leader from 2019 to 2021.
He was a member of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission from 2005 to 2008, where he also served as chair. He helped to increase the Renewable Portfolio Standard in New Mexico, which required investor-owned utilities to generate 20% of total retail sales from renewable energy sources by 2020. The standard also required utilities to diversify renewable energy production to include solar, wind and biomass.
In the House, he chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ Green Economy and Renewable Energy Task Force. Luján initiated several pieces of legislation regarding renewable energy such as the SOLAR Act. In addition to supporting the Green New Deal, an economic stimulus package that aims to address climate change and economic inequality, Luján drafted legislation to put the United States on a path to net-zero carbon emission and address climate change.
Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-NM-2
Herrell served four terms in the New Mexico House of Representatives. She campaigned on a stronger southern U.S. border, supporting small businesses and fighting government regulation. She said her top priority was job creation, and she would reduce regulations in the mining, energy and agriculture industries.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-NM-3
Fernandez was a White House Fellow during the Clinton administration and later served on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation during the Obama administration. She won the seat vacated by Luján, who was elected to the Senate. Fernandez has advocated for a “New Mexico Green New Deal,” and a transition away from fracking to renewable energy sources.
COLORADO
Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-CO
Hickenlooper was governor of Colorado since 2011, and prior to that was mayor of Denver. His administration created the nation’s first methane-capture regulations for oil and gas companies. The rules prevented 95% of volatile organic compounds and methane from leaking from hydraulic fracturing wells. The rules were later used as blueprints for California, Canada, and the federal government’s new rules. While he has supported fracking in the past, he ran on an anti-fracking platform during his campaign. Before politics, Hickenlooper was a geologist.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-CO-3
Boebert believes in personal freedom, citizen rights and upholding the U.S. Constitution. She is the founder, owner and operator of Shooters Grill. Her husband, Jayson, has worked his entire adult life in oil and gas fields, primarily in Western Colorado. Boebert supports an “all-of-the-above energy” policy.
WYOMING
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-WY
Prior to serving in Congress, Lummis spent eight years as Wyoming State Treasurer and 14 years as a member of the Wyoming House and Senate. Lummis also worked as general counsel to Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer, Director of the Office of State Lands and Investments, and as a law clerk at the Wyoming Supreme Court. She is a champion of Wyoming’s mineral and energy resources. In Washington, she advocated for market opportunities for the energy industry both at home and abroad.