Texas Republican faces backlash over post about UT students

Texas Republican Railroad Commission candidate Bo French is facing condemnation from prominent members of his own party after he posted a photo of nonwhite University of Texas students celebrating a football victory and wrote that the scene showed “a problem” that was “far worse than anyone imagined.”

The backlash has reached senior Republican circles in Texas. Karl Rove, the longtime political adviser to former President George W. Bush, told a private event in Austin that he would not support French and would instead vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal, the Texas Tribune reported, according to The Guardian. Rove’s decision would break a 32-year streak of voting only for Republicans.

French is the Republican nominee for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry. The controversy began after the University of Texas defeated top-ranked Ohio State in football. French reposted a television freeze-frame of students at the game, many of whom appeared to be South Asian, after another user captioned it “Bollywood University.” French then compared UT admissions to “HR departments,” according to Talking Points Memo.

Minutes later, French posted another image of nonwhite students in Texas Longhorns gear celebrating. “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it,” he wrote. “The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”

French did not provide evidence about the students’ nationality or immigration status. The Guardian reported that, according to Texas Global, fewer than 10% of the university’s 55,000 enrolled students are from overseas.

Several Texas Republicans criticized the post. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn wrote on X, “The Republican Party is better than this. We should all condemn this bigotry directed at our fellow Texans or we will soon find ourselves a minority party.” Gov. Greg Abbott told Politico, “That is not my message,” adding that the photo showed “a way that Texans unite” through support for college football teams. “The way we win the state is the same way we win football games. We unite under the brand of Texas,” Abbott said.

Republican state Sen. Lacey Hull urged French to delete the post. “This post breaks my heart. I see college kids cheering on their football team. I see Texans,” she wrote. Kevin Eltife, chair of the University of Texas Board of Regents, said he saw “only Longhorns” and added, “I’m proud to celebrate all our Longhorn students today and every day.”

French did not retreat from the comments. On a radio show Monday, he said the Republicans criticizing him were “less conservative,” according to the Tribune, as reported by The Guardian. “The establishment raised and spent $7[m] against me in the primary,” he told host Mark Davis. “Many of the people who criticized me yesterday were some of the same people involved in that effort.”

Talking Points Memo reported that French has made other inflammatory posts while campaigning, including a poll asking whether Jews or Muslims posed a greater threat to the United States. The outlet also reported that he endorsed 100 million deportations at CPAC and wrote in July, “Ok boys, it’s time to go round up all the Chinese and send them packing!”

French has also focused criticism on Muslims and Muslim immigrants, according to Talking Points Memo, saying Muslims should not be allowed in the United States and accusing “islamists” of “using our Constitution against us.” The outlet reported that anti-Muslim politics have been prominent in Texas Republican politics over the past year, including investigations and actions by Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton involving Muslim communities, and a Texas Republican primary ballot question on banning Sharia law that received 95% support.