Changes

Under the 2012 redistricting plan for the Texas House, Christian ran unsuccessfully in a district in which some 80 percent of the constituents were new to him. He was among several senior House Republicans who were either paired off with other Republicans or moved into largely new population districts. These members blamed House [[Speaker]] [[Joe Straus]] of [[San Antonio]] for unfair redrawing of their district boundaries. In both 2009 and 2011, Christian and many of the East Texas lawmakers opposed the election of Straus, who is considered a Moderate Republican in the tradition of his old mentor, [[John Tower]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://whiteforeasttexas.com/?p=253|title=A Word from James White|publisher=whiteforeasttexas.com|accessdate=July 5, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://everythingnac.com/?p=15924|title=Nacogdoches County Republicans Meeting Today, June 28, Tune in today and hear U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert|publisher=everythingnac.com|accessdate=July 5, 2011}}</ref>

Under the 2012 redistricting plan for the Texas House, Christian ran unsuccessfully in a district in which some 80 percent of the constituents were new to him. He was among several senior House Republicans who were either paired off with other Republicans or moved into largely new population districts. These members blamed House [[Speaker]] [[Joe Straus]] of [[San Antonio]] for unfair redrawing of their district boundaries. In both 2009 and 2011, Christian and many of the East Texas lawmakers opposed the election of Straus, who is considered a Moderate Republican in the tradition of his old mentor, [[John Tower]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://whiteforeasttexas.com/?p=253|title=A Word from James White|publisher=whiteforeasttexas.com|accessdate=July 5, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://everythingnac.com/?p=15924|title=Nacogdoches County Republicans Meeting Today, June 28, Tune in today and hear U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert|publisher=everythingnac.com|accessdate=July 5, 2011}}</ref>

In 2014, Christian ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for one of the three seats on the Railroad Commission, a regulatory body. He lost to intraparty challenger Ryan Sitton, an oil and natural gas engineer from Friendswood, Texas, who polled 398,652 (57.3 percent). Christian trailed with 297,654 ballots (42.7 percent in a low-turnout contest. H

In 2014, Christian ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for one of the three seats on the Railroad Commission. He lost to intra-party challenger Ryan Sitton, an oil and natural gas engineer from Friendswood, Texas, who polled 398,652 (57.3 percent). Christian trailed with 297,654 ballots (42.7 percent in a low-turnout contest. H

However, Christian rebounded in 2016 to claim the party nomination for the Railroad Commission by defeating in a runoff contest the businessman Gary Gates of Richmond, Texas. In the general election, Christian lost the large cities of [[San Antonio]], [[Dallas]], [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], and [[El Paso]] but nevertheless defeated the Democrat Grady Yarbrough, a retired African-American educator and a perennial candidate. Christian polled 4,643,339 votes (53.2 percent) to Yarbrough's 2,484,781 (38.5 percent). The [[Libertarian Party|Libertarian]] nominee, Mark Miller, endorsed by the ''Dallas Morning News'', trailed with 312,952 votes (4.9 percent). The Green Party choice, Martina Salinas, trailed with 181,314 votes (2.8 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://enrpages.sos.state.tx.us/public/nov08_319_state.htm|title=Election Returns|date=November 8, 2016|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate=November 9, 2016}}</ref>

However, Christian rebounded in 2016 to claim the party nomination for the Railroad Commission by defeating in a runoff contest the businessman Gary Gates of Richmond, Texas. In the general election, Christian lost the large cities of [[San Antonio]], [[Dallas]], [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], and [[El Paso]] but nevertheless defeated the Democrat Grady Yarbrough, a retired African-American educator and a perennial candidate. Christian polled 4,643,339 votes (53.2 percent) to Yarbrough's 2,484,781 (38.5 percent). The [[Libertarian Party|Libertarian]] nominee, Mark Miller, endorsed by the ''Dallas Morning News'', trailed with 312,952 votes (4.9 percent). The Green Party choice, Martina Salinas, trailed with 181,314 votes (2.8 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://enrpages.sos.state.tx.us/public/nov08_319_state.htm|title=Election Returns|date=November 8, 2016|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate=November 9, 2016}}</ref>