A fierce intra-party clash has erupted within Texas Republican politics after Bo French, the GOP nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, published a series of xenophobic social media posts targeting South Asian students attending a college football game in Austin. His comments quickly triggered sharp condemnation from high-ranking party figures, including outgoing U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows.
The controversy originated following a major college football matchup on Saturday night at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium. During the high-stakes game, the Texas Longhorns rallied to complete an exciting comeback victory over the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, drawing an energetic, celebratory reaction from thousands of collegiate fans packed into the stands.
Early Sunday morning, French took to social media to share an image of fans rejoicing either late in the fourth quarter or immediately following the final whistle. The photograph highlighted a group of enthusiastic students, many of whom appeared to be of South Asian descent, participating in the stadium festivities.
Rather than celebrating the home team’s high-profile victory, French used the image to voice grievance over the demographics of the student body. In his post, French claimed he had previously heard that this year's University of Texas graduation looked similar to the photograph, remarking that he had not believed it at the time before asserting that the perceived issue is now significantly worse than anyone had anticipated.
French expanded upon his stance in the comments beneath his initial post. He argued that students resembling those depicted in the stadium photo, who appeared to be of South Asian heritage, were receiving preferential treatment in university admissions, alleging that institutions were prioritizing foreigners ahead of native Texans.
Roughly an hour after his opening remarks, French reinforced his viewpoint with a second post featuring the identical photograph. In that update, he drew a comparison between social media and police body cameras, asserting that just as body-cams capture criminal activity, digital platforms are revealing the scale at which American citizens are allegedly being displaced by foreigners across the country.
The inflammatory posts quickly provoked public outrage and drew a direct, scathing rebuke from outgoing U.S. Sen. John Cornyn on Sunday. Cornyn highlighted French’s position as a standard-bearer for the party and publicly questioned the response from fellow conservative leaders across the state.
Cornyn wrote on X that French is the party's nominee for statewide office, asking whether other elected Republican officials would speak out against the intolerance and racism or simply ignore the behavior as it becomes normalized. Cornyn further cautioned that allowing such rhetoric to go unchecked illustrates how great political movements and parties ultimately self-destruct.
The fallout swiftly spread to the Texas Legislature, where several prominent state lawmakers joined Cornyn in voicing their disapproval. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows publicly demanded that French remove the offensive online publication on Sunday.
State Rep. Jeff Leach and state Rep. Lacey Hull also spoke out against the commentary, aligning with the speaker in calling for French to take down the post. The united response from legislative leadership highlighted growing discomfort among established Republicans regarding French’s rhetoric.
French, who previously served as the chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party, is running as the Republican candidate for a statewide seat on the Texas Railroad Commission. His recent posts mark the latest chapter in a pattern of hardline and controversial statements concerning race, religion, and immigration.
Earlier this year in March, French ignited severe backlash after delivering remarks that characterized Islam as an ideology seeking to infiltrate and conquer the state of Texas. During those appearances, French advocated for the deportation of American Muslims, which drew widespread condemnation from various Texas Republican figures at the time.
Despite the mounting criticism from respected members of his own party on Sunday, French showed no signs of remorse or willingness to retract his statements. Instead, he issued a fiery response directed at Cornyn shortly after the senator's initial post.
French lashed out at Cornyn, labeling him a "RINO" (Republican in Name Only) and accusing him and other establishment figures of encouraging state institutions to be overrun by foreign nationals and illegal aliens. French maintained that critics were simply resentful of Texas Republicans who are actively advancing an "America First" agenda over what he described as "America Last" policies.
The public confrontation underscores deep divisions inside the Texas GOP as candidates navigate statewide campaigns. The escalating dispute demonstrates an intensifying friction between traditional conservative party leaders seeking to denounce explicit intolerance and populist candidates employing increasingly nationalist rhetoric.
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