A major political dispute has erupted within the Texas Republican Party following racially charged remarks made online by Bo French, the GOP nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner. French came under severe criticism from high-ranking party figures after using a photograph of celebrating college football fans to complain about the ethnic makeup of the crowd and make disparaging comments about people of South Asian descent.
The controversy originated from scenes at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin on Saturday night. During the high-profile college football matchup, the Texas Longhorns secured a thrilling comeback victory against the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, sparking massive celebrations in the stands as time expired.
While Longhorns supporters celebrated the monumental upset, French expressed anger while viewing the event from his television screen. Early Sunday morning, the Republican nominee shared a photograph on social media depicting a group of students in the stadium crowd celebrating late in the fourth quarter or shortly after the game ended. A significant number of the students pictured appeared to be of South Asian background, which French singled out as a negative development for the state.
Accompanying the image, French asserted that he had previously heard reports about the demographic makeup of the University of Texas graduation earlier in the year. He stated that while he initially doubted those claims, the photograph convinced him that the issue was now far worse than anyone had anticipated.
French expanded upon his stance in the comment section of his initial post. He alleged that university admissions policies were intentionally prioritizing students of South Asian heritage and treating foreign-born individuals more favorably than native Texans.
Roughly an hour after his first message, French escalated the rhetoric by sharing the same photograph a second time. In the follow-up message, he drew a comparison to law enforcement technology, writing that in the same way body cameras expose criminals, social media platforms are exposing how many Americans are being displaced by foreigners across the country.
The inflammatory online statements quickly provoked condemnation from prominent Texas Republicans who sought to distance the party from his statements. Among the most vocal critics was outgoing United States Senator John Cornyn, who took to social media on Sunday to publicly rebuke the nominee.
Cornyn highlighted French’s position as a statewide standard-bearer for the Republican ticket, questioning whether other elected party members would openly reject the intolerance or permit it to become an accepted standard. The veteran senator cautioned that allowing such rhetoric to be normalized is the exact path through which great political organizations experience self-destruction.
The backlash within the state’s legislative leadership mounted throughout the day as key officials demanded accountability. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows publicly called on French to remove the offensive social media posts entirely.
Speaker Burrows was joined in his condemnation by state Representatives Jeff Leach and Lacey Hull, both of whom similarly demanded that French delete the derogatory remarks from his public feed.
The episode marks the latest in a series of controversial episodes involving French, who formerly served as the chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party. The nominee has previously faced sharp blowback for making hostile statements targeting specific ethnic and religious minority communities in Texas.
Earlier in the year, French generated widespread outrage during a March address in which he characterized the religion of Islam as an invasive force seeking to infiltrate and conquer the state. During those same remarks, the candidate called for the deportation of American Muslims, drawing condemnation from several fellow Texas Republicans at the time.
Despite the mounting pressure and direct rebukes from statewide leaders over his latest posts, French showed no contrition and refused to take down the disputed messages. Instead, he fired back with an aggressive public response aimed directly at Senator Cornyn and other critics within the GOP establishment.
French asserted that institutions throughout Texas have been overrun by foreign nationals and undocumented immigrants. He placed the blame squarely on establishment party figures, describing Cornyn and other critics as "RINOs"—Republicans in Name Only—who he claimed have favored non-citizens over the interests of domestic residents.
Doubling down on his rhetoric, French stated that his establishment detractors represented an "America Last" viewpoint and claimed they were simply frustrated because Texas Republicans are actively embracing an "America First" agenda.
The sharp confrontation highlights the deepening ideological divide within the Texas GOP, as statewide leaders continue to grapple with the fallout from French's rhetoric while he campaigns for the Texas Railroad Commission.
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