GOP Chairman Jeff Essmann agreed that the ability of land board members to keep job promises will be closely tied with other national and state efforts to revive natural resource industries and commodity markets. He said that could include Republican efforts to deregulate some industries and conservative calls for Trump to undo executive orders by President Barack Obama that tightened some environmental rules.

“It’ll take a little bit more time for Trump and Congress to get the economy moving again, but when they take those steps nationally to free things up and free up investment I think our land board will be ready to act,” he said.

Democrats had said on the campaign trail that they already had been doing just that.

Nearly all decisions by the board are unanimous. Since January 2004, there have been only 30 split votes out of more than 1,200 action items, according to a Lee Newspapers analysis. To some degree, candidates from both parties attributed that to the professional work of DNRC staffers who smooth out most kinks long before the board votes. Others suggested there has been little disagreement because Democrats have controlled the board for so long.