A Republican running for statewide office in Texas is drawing criticism from within his own party after sharing a post condemned as racist.
Bo French, the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, posted on X on Sunday morning an image of non-white University of Texas students celebrating the school’s upset win over Ohio State the previous night.
French said the image showed that Texas institutions had been “overrun by illegal aliens and foreign nationals.”
“I heard UT graduation this year looked like this, I didn’t believe it,” French wrote. “The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
Republicans across the Lone Star State quickly called on French to remove the post, while US Senator John Cornyn urged fellow party members to publicly denounce it.
Cornyn said French’s language put the GOP’s future at risk.
“This is the Republican nominee for statewide office. Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance or racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized,” wrote Cornyn, whose 23-year Senate career is set to end after he lost the primary to Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“This is how great political parties self-destruct,” he continued, calling the situation “sad.”
Bo French, the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, has faced backlash from fellow Republicans.
French shared an X post Sunday featuring non-white University of Texas students celebrating the school’s victory over Ohio State, claiming it showed Texas institutions had been “overrun by illegal aliens and foreign nationals.”
Jared Patterson, a state representative from Austin, also declared that the post is ‘racist. It is wrong. And I condemn it without reservation.
‘There is absolutely nothing Christian or conservative about looking at a crowd of young Texans at a college football game, seeing the color of their skin and declaring that they are a “problem,”‘ he wrote, arguing: ‘These are 20-year-old kids cheering for their university – not political props and not targets for racial attacks.’
Patterson then went on to note that the Texas Railroad Commission only regulates the state’s oil and gas industry and does not set federal immigration policy.
‘Texans deserve Railroad Commissioners focused on the responsibilities of that office – not using a statewide campaign as a platform for racial division.
‘This does not represent my Christian faith. It does not represent my conservative principles. And it does not represent the Republican Party I believe in,’ he continued.
‘We should be willing to call racism wrong no matter who says it, what party they belong to or how politically inconvenient it may be,’ Patterson concluded. ‘This is wrong and I want no part of it.’
Many others called on French to delete the post.
‘You can oppose immigration policy without demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity – this post has crossed the line. Delete it,’ urged Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows.
US Senator John Cornyn led the condemnation of the post, calling on others in the party to denounce it
He argued in the post on X that ‘this is how great political parties self-destruct’
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows urged French to delete the post
Republican Representatives Lacey Hull, of Houston, and Jeff Leach, of Plano, both of whom are allies of Burrows, also called on French to remove the post.
‘Please delete this,’ Hull wrote. ‘This post breaks my heart.
‘I see college kids cheering on their football teams. I see Texans,’ she shared.
Leach, meanwhile, shared a photo of his own son with friends at the game.
‘This is my son Brady at the @TexasFootball game with his pledge class,’ he posted. ‘Bo thinks it’s a “problem” they don’t all look like and have the same color as Brady.
‘I think that’s racist – and it makes me sick.’
Republican Representative Jeff Leach, of Plano, shared a photo of his own son with friends at the game
French’s Democratic opponent, State Representative Jon Rosenthal, also condemned the post.
‘I spent 25 years as an oil and gas engineer. Bo French spent Sunday morning sorting our student section by skin color.
‘Greg Abbott said Bo French would “wreck” our oil and gas industry,’ he noted.
‘A man who can’t tell a Longhorn from a foreigner has no business regulating anything in TX.’
In a separate post, Rosenthal thanked Cornyn for ‘having the decency to call out this racist rhetoric.
‘It’s truly unfortunate that so many elected “leaders” will just silently let this pass,’ he wrote.
Yet French has only doubled down on his racist post, arguing that Cornyn and other ‘RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) are anti-American.
‘Our state’s institutions have been overrun by illegal aliens and foreign nationals because of RINOs like John Cornyn who have cheered for them over our own citizens. He and the other America Last losers are mad that Texas Republicans are starting to put America First.’
French’s Democratic opponent, State Representative Jon Rosenthal, also condemned the post
Rosenthal argued in his own post that French ‘has no business regulating anything’ in Texas
But French, the former Tarrant County GOP chair, has faced backlash in the past over other controversial statements – including calling for the deportation of 100 million Americans.
He has built his campaign on anti-Islamic comments, vowing to ‘stop the Islamic invasion of Texas’ and ‘end DEI’s stranglehold on Texas oil.’
French’s campaign website also notes that he ‘is a proven conservative fighter who has stood up to the Chinese Communist Party and radical Islam.’
As of July, the Republican had a three-point lead over Rosenthal, according to a survey of likely voters by The Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research Center at Texas Southern University.
It showed that 44 percent of respondents said they intended to vote for French, while 41 percent expressed support for Rosenthal.
At the same time, however, 11 percent of self-identified Republicans said they were unsure of which candidate to pick, as were 10 percent of self-identified Democratic respondents.
Forty-three percent of self-identified independent respondents also marked themselves as unsure of both candidates.
