Democrat Jon Rosenthal wins Texas Railroad Commission race

Democrat Jon Rosenthal has won a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, defeating Republican Bo French after a campaign dominated by backlash over French’s comments about immigrants, Muslims and Jews, CBS News and NBC News project. The victory gives Democrats their first win in a railroad commissioner race since 1990, according to CBS News.

With about 93% of votes counted, Rosenthal led French 52.5% to 45.6%, CBS News reported. He will serve alongside two Republican commissioners. Despite its name, the commission does not oversee railroads: It regulates Texas oil and gas production. CBS News reported that the state accounts for more than 40% of U.S. crude oil output. Commissioners serve six-year terms, according to NBC News.

Rosenthal is a state representative from Houston and a former oil field engineer who worked in the industry for 25 years, CBS News reported. NBC News described him as a mechanical engineer who has served in the state House since 2019. His campaign called for lower energy costs, guardrails for data centers, weatherization requirements for gas production and a ban on industry donations to commissioners, according to NBC News.

French, a former Tarrant County Republican Party chair originally from Midland, won his party’s nomination despite opposition from prominent Texas Republicans ahead of a May runoff, CBS News reported. In September, he posted a photograph of University of Texas students on X and wrote: “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.” Some of the students appeared to be of South Asian descent. In another post using the photo, he wrote, “Like body-cams exposed criminals, social media is exposing how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners.” Several students later said they were American citizens, according to CBS News.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he would not vote for French. Karl Rove, a Republican consultant and former adviser to President George W. Bush, said he would vote for Rosenthal instead, NBC News reported. Republican Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker also endorsed Rosenthal. “The Texas Railroad Commission is not a place for culture wars and bigotry — it’s the foundation of the Texas economy, and we cannot afford to hand it to the wrong leader,” Parker said in a statement shared by Rosenthal’s campaign.

French had also made anti-Muslim and antisemitic comments before winning the nomination. His campaign platform called for rooting out diversity, equity and inclusion policies, stopping what he called the “Islamic invasion of Texas” and supporting “life and the nuclear family,” CBS News reported. NBC News reported that, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, French said Republicans should embrace Islamophobia and deport 100 million people. It also reported that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had called on French to resign as county party chair after French reportedly posted an online poll asking whether Jews or Muslims posed a bigger threat to the United States.

Asked by Dallas television station WFAA in July whether he regretted his comments about minority groups, French said he did not. “Truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth,” he said, according to NBC News.

CBS News reported that French raised more than $700,000 after the September posts, while Rosenthal raised more than $500,000 over the same period.