Texas GOP candidate for Railroad Commission facing backlash for racy campaign ad: ‘It feels like slut-shaming’

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A Republican candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner is getting some flak for a controversial video showing her semi-nude sitting atop an oil rig. 

Sarah Stogner, 37, posted the video on Super Bowl Sunday. The ad, featuring a scantily clad Stogner, asks the viewer to vote early ahead of the March 1 primary. A brief snippet of "Apache" by the SugarHill Gang plays in the background. 

"They said I needed money. I have other assets," the caption read.  

With nearly 15 years of experience as an oil and gas attorney, Stogner is challenging incumbent Wayne Christian to head an office that usually receives little attention. 

After her video, the San Antonio Express-News rescinded its endorsement of her, calling it "disgraceful." 

FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas U.S. (Reuters/Nick Oxford)

"We review social media, and Stogner would never had been our pick had the video appeared before we made our recommendation," read an editorial. "It’s painful to rescind a recommendation. But this is an opportunity to reaffirm our principles and expectations." 

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Stogner has in turn hit back at the negative coverage of her video, comparing herself to Lady Godiva and likening the criticism to "slut-shaming."

In response to the Express-News' decision to rescind its endorsement, Stogner said she wished the paper had waited to hear what she had to say before it made that decision. 

FILE PHOTO: An oil worker walks toward a drill rig after placing ground monitoring equipment in the vicinity of the underground horizontal drill in Loving County, Texas, U.S. (Reuters/Angus Mordant)

"We have radiation in our water. But me scantily clad is where the line is drawn," Stogner said in a Facebook post. She has said repeatedly that the outrage overshadows the real issues she is campaigning about. 

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"I want to put my clothes back on and have a serious conversation," Stogner told KENS 5 last week. "I want to talk about groundwater. I want to talk about flaring. I want to talk about winterizing our infrastructure pipelines. But that’s boring. It doesn’t get clickbait." 

Rigging equipment is pictured in a field outside of Sweetwater, Texas. REUTERS/Cooper Neill - TM3EB6701HE01

Stogner told Fox News that her video has opened opportunities to discuss the "real" issues about her campaign the Texas Railroad Commission.

"The video is being perceived just as I desired, a knock on the door and now that door is open," Stogner said. "It has allowed me to engage folks who appreciated my passion and concerns." 

Despite the name, the "Railroad Commission of Texas" hasn’t actually regulated railroads since 2005. Today, the agency oversees the state’s oil and gas industry. 

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Commissioners faced renewed scrutiny after a wave of power outages across the state last year amid an unprecedented winter storm.  

The Associated Press contributed to this report.