Voting Resources
Voice of the Conservative Vote: Barry Smitherman
Barry Smitherman is a candidate for Attorney General of Texas. Barry Smitherman is a proven leader with strong conservative values that stands up to the federal government to defend Texans and the Texas Constitution. He has substantial experience in both the private and public sectors. As Texas Attorney General, Barry will use his conservative values and experiences to enforce our laws and secure our border. He is a passionate fighter for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Barry is a fourth generation Texan who grew up in a working class neighborhood on the east side of Houston. It is there that his parents taught him the value of hard work and a strong Christian faith. He worked his way through college and law school and earned degrees from Texas A&M University and the University of Texas School of Law.
Barry Smitherman won statewide election to the Railroad Commission of Texas in November 2012 with 74% of the vote. He was previously appointed by Governor Rick Perry to the Commission in July 2011. His leadership has helped grow the booming Texas energy industry.
Smitherman has repeatedly stood up to President Barack Obama and his job-killing policies, suing Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency seven times to protect jobs and energy for our families, and future generations of Texans.
As Chairman of the Railroad Commission, he instituted a complete review of over burdensome oil and gas regulations resulting in a dramatic increase in Texas jobs. His administration issued record levels of drilling permits and cut unnecessary red-tape, while respecting Texans’ private property rights.
Barry is an unwavering supporter of the 2nd Amendment. As a hunter and a gun owner, Barry understands the precious right to bear arms and continues to fight to protect that right.
He earned an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association and led the effort to allow law-abiding Commission employees the right to legally carry concealed handguns in Railroad Commission buildings across our state. This year he also implemented the first ever agency-wide concealed handgun license training at the Commission.
As Chairman of the Public Utility Commission, Smitherman helped make the Texas electric market the most competitive and free market based system in the world, all while cutting costs and eliminating unnecessary expenditures.
Barry is a licensed attorney who served as a prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. As a prosecutor, Smitherman focused on keeping families safe by specializing in prosecuting family assaults and drunk driving cases.
Prior to his service in the public sector, Barry spent seventeen years in the private sector working in public finance. Barry distinguished himself by helping state and local governments save hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money.
Barry and his wife, Marijane, have been happily married for 26 years and are the proud parents of four wonderful children.
"What we need in this job is a fighter, a fighter who understands that the oil and gas industry is a critical pillar of our economy. We have to prosecute all these cases against the EPA and the Department of Interior, not only the air-quality regulations that we’ve seen but also efforts like putting a lizard on the endangered species list - a lizard that lives in the Permian Basin, where most of our oil and gas production comes from." - Barry Smitherman
