A business leader in the Midland oil and gas industry, Kevin Sparks, announced his candidacy this past week to run for the District 31 seat in the Texas State Senate.
According to a campaign press release, Sparks is the president of Discovery Operating, a family-owned, and operated oil and gas company based in Midland that has employed hundreds of people for roughly 50 years.
Sparks has served on the board of numerous institutions including the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the Natural Gas Producers Association, and High Sky Children’s Ranch.
The press release states that some of Spark’s top issues include securing the southern border, protecting the second amendment, election integrity, and protecting the economy.
Sparks is an elder at Stonegate Fellowship Church in Midland where he attends church along with his wife Jill and has four adult children.
The race for SD-31 will now be a contested, with Spark joining Big Spring area businesswoman and school board trustee Stormy Bradley in seeking the GOP nomination.
Bradley announced her candidacy for the office last month.
SD-31 encompasses a vast region of West Texas that currently counts Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, and Amarillo as its major cities.
The district is currently represented by State Senator Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo).
Seliger has yet to announce whether he intends to seek re-election.
Odessa Headlines has previously reported that with the Texas Legislature set to redraw district boundary maps due to redistricting this fall, it is currently unknown how the current boundaries of district 31 could be affected.
It has also been reported that the late redistricting process could result in delaying the usual March primary election.