George P. Bush has bragging rights in his famous family: Not only was he elected Tuesday as the Texas land commissioner, but he was the first member of the Bush clan to win his first election. His father, Jeb Bush, lost his first bid for Florida governor; uncle George W. Bush lost his first run for Texas governor, and grandfather George H.W. Bush's first campaign was an unsuccessful run for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas.
One of George P. Bush's main jobs at the General Land Office will be to negotiate and enforce leases for mineral rights on state-owned land, the Texas Tribune reports, and the royalties collected go into the $34 billion Permanent School Fund. Bush is an oil and gas investment consultant who raised thousands from energy companies, but he said that like previous commissioners, he can accept campaign donations from the industry while still fighting against it if necessary. "My team will be in the courtroom, if I'm elected, to hold private producers accountable," he told the Texas Tribune before the election.