Texas Republicans call out railroad commissioner candidate over racist post

Several prominent Texas Republicans on Sunday condemned a racist post by Bo French, a GOP candidate for statewide office to regulate Texas’ oil and gas industry.

French, who is running for state railroad commissioner, posted a photo of students of South Asian descent at the University of Texas celebrating the school’s football win over Ohio State on Saturday, saying, “The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”

French was quickly met with backlash from his own party, as Sen. John Cornyn, who is leaving Congress after he lost in a primary to Trump-backed state Attorney General Ken Paxton, condemned the post and urged fellow Republicans to do the same.

“This is the Republican nominee for statewide office. Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized. This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad,” Cornyn wrote on X.

French responded by calling Cornyn a “RINO” and saying Texas institutions were “overrun by illegal aliens and foreign nationals.”

“He and the other America Last losers are mad that Texas Republicans are starting to put America First,” French wrote.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, condemned French on X as well, while Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, who is running against French for railroad commissioner, said French could not “tell a Longhorn from a foreigner.”

Gov. Greg Abbott did not condemn the post in a statement Sunday, but he said that French’s message was not his and that the photo he posted was “selective” and “shows a way that Texans unite.”

“The way we win the state is the same way we win football games. We unite under the brand of Texas,” Abbott said. “That doesn’t mean that Texas cannot also lead in having the toughest immigration laws of any state in America and freezing H-1B visas at our universities.”

French in May defeated the Abbott-endorsed incumbent, Jim Wright, for the GOP nomination for railroad commissioner.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows called on French to delete the post, writing: “You can oppose immigration policy without demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity — this post has crossed the line.”

The Democratic nominee for the Senate, James Talarico, lauded Cornyn for his statement, while condemning French’s post and questioning his opponent, Paxton, about whether he, too, would speak out against it.

“Racism has no place in Texas,” Talarico wrote.

Paxton responded to Talarico’s post by saying he condemned “racism in all its forms” — without making mention of French or French’s post and while attacking Talarico.

French has a history of making bigoted remarks. He has used slurs against the LGBTQ community and has made antisemitic and Islamophobic remarks.

French did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Asked by WFAA-TV of Dallas in July whether he regretted those comments, French said he did not, adding, “Truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth.”

The Texas Railroad Commission is a powerful three-member panel that regulates oil and gas production, pipelines and natural gas utilities in the state. Members serve six-year terms.

A spokesperson for the University of Texas did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday about French’s post.