Chet Edwards and Bill Flores have collectively received about $250,000 in political donations from the oil and gas industry as they compete in one of the tighter U.S. House races in the country.

In any other campaign cycle, the donations might be a side note — particularly in the 17th Congressional District, which is rich in natural gas and where energy companies have liberally spread money around in the past.

But with oil continuing to gush into the Gulf of Mexico more than two months after the Deepwater Horizon’s explosion, a spotlight is shining on oil and gas industry regulations and contributions alike.

Bill Flores (right) and U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards are competing in one of the tightest U.S. House races in the country.

Edwards has received $127,000 from the oil and gas industry in the 2009-10 cycle, more than all but two other members of the House. Of that total, $68,000 came from political action committees and $59,000 from individuals connected to the industry.

Flores raised more than $130,000 from his former industry, all in individual contributions. The retired oil and gas executive also has given and lent his campaign $493,000.

In other parts of the country, candidates have taken flak for receiving big checks from the industry in light of the spill.

But Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson predicted less scrutiny for such contributions in the 17th district, which stretches from the Bryan-College Station area through Waco and up to Fort Worth’s southern suburbs.

Oil money has flowed freely in Texas elections for more than a century, and Jillson called it “the most fluid” form of campaign cash available in the state.

As a junior member of the U.S. House, Lyndon B. Johnson was the conduit through which money made in Texas oil fields entered federal politics.

Via the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Johnson steered oil donations to House candidates across the country in 1940 to great effect.

In the past 20 years, Republicans in Texas’ congressional delegation have been the biggest beneficiaries of such contributions.

During that period, the top 10 recipients of oil money in the House are all Republicans, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, and five of the top 11 are from Texas.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, who famously apologized at a hearing to the chairman of BP for President Barack Obama’s treatment of the company, has received more money during the past two decades than any other House member.

But among Democrats, Edwards, whose district includes parts of the Barnett shale natural-gas field, has been one of the larger recipients of oil and gas industry donations.

Candidates’ responses

In a phone interview, Edwards said his contributions aren’t surprising given that he represents companies and workers involved in natural-gas deposits in his district.

“It’s no surprise the oil and gas industry would be supportive of a representative who understands the important role they play for Texas and the country’s economy,” he said.

“I’m proud to have the support of companies who provide jobs in our district,” he said, pointing to his efforts to thwart attempts by environmentalists to stop hydraulic fracturing, the primary method by which natural-gas companies extract gas in the Barnett shale.

“But I will never hesitate to criticize the industry when I think they’re wrong, and I’ve been very vocal in my criticism of BP,” Edwards said.

“I think they cut corners, and I think they’ve been dishonest about the scope of this crisis from Day One, when they estimated only 1,000 barrels a day of oil was leaking into the Gulf.”

Flores declined an interview but responded to a list of questions about the BP spill and energy policy through his campaign spokesman.

His answers were critical of BP, which he said “acted irresponsibly and cut corners during the drilling of the Macondo well.”

However, Flores said the decisions made by BP shouldn’t lead to a heavy-handed response to the greater industry.

While Edwards and Flores both offered condemnations of BP, they differed on several pieces of policy related to the industry, most notably the administration’s decision to impose a ban on deep-water drilling.

Both candidates have said they oppose a moratorium as originally written.

And for Flores, the issue is clear-cut.

“I am completely opposed to the drilling moratorium,” he wrote. “It is short-sighted, counterproductive and is unnecessarily hurting thousands of middle-class families whose employment is based on services or contracts supporting American oil production.”

Edwards called for a more limited ban, focused on the riskiest type of drilling.

A letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, which Edwards signed along with two Democrats and 16 Republicans from the Texas congressional delegation, proposes blocking exploratory drilling in unknown fields, where pressures are hardest to gauge.

Such a distinction would, according to the letter, allow work to resume on 28 out of 33 rigs in the Gulf and “protect an estimated 75 percent of the jobs that could be lost under the existing moratorium,” while also reducing the impact on the country’s energy supply.

Point of contention

Another split in the candidates’ approaches centered on what should be done to prevent a reoccurrence.

BP is in the process of drilling a relief well, which the company said is the best hope for plugging the well.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has argued the U.S. ought to require relief wells to be in place before companies start extracting oil in deep water.

Other countries have relief-well policies, but industry leaders have been resistant to such wells, which the Associated Press has reported can cost $100 million.

Edwards didn’t specifically endorse a pre-emptive relief well requirement but said more generally that “all reasonable preventive and responsive safety measures should be seriously considered.”

He specifically mentioned remote-controlled shut-off switches and relief wells.

Flores said he opposed a relief-well policy, which he argued would “unnecessarily increase the cost of energy for American consumers, drive energy producers overseas and cost thousands of jobs.”

Flores said any possible government response to the situation should come after officials complete an investigation and gain a thorough understanding of the cause of the spill.

“Once we know exactly why this oil spill occurred, we can consider regulatory changes,” he said.

Jillson, the SMU professor, said that while the BP spill presents some potential political land mines for candidates, the contributions themselves are unlikely to be a major factor in the race.

“It’s hard to get in trouble for taking oil money in Texas,” he said.

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

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