(The Center Square) — Republican officials in Texas have again condemned social media posts of former Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French who is running for Railroad Commissioner.
The Texas Railroad Commission regulates the oil and gas industry.
French has been accused of being a racist and misogynist in response to social media posts he has made about Muslims, Jews, women and others, The Center Square reported.
Even after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, former Tarrant County Republican precinct chairs, state and federal Republican lawmakers have called on him to delete posts, he didn’t delete most of them. He also hasn’t responded to requests for comment.
Over the weekend, French criticized the University of Texas-Austin and its college students and has since dropped in the polls. Now, another statewide race previously considered solid Republican is either considered a toss-up or leans Democrat.
On Saturday, the Texas Longhorns football team (4) defeated Ohio State (1) in a remarkable comeback in the fourth quarter. They were led by starting quarterback, Arch Manning, the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning. Their father and Arch’s grandfather, Archie Manning, played for the Houston Oilers in the early 1980s. For most of the game, the Longhorns were down 23-2. In the last quarter, Manning helped pulled off a 24-23 win. The crowd erupted in cheers, including Indian UT students.
French posted a photo of some of them, saying, “Like body-cams exposed criminals, social media is exposing how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners. It’s everywhere and far worse than any of us could imagine.”
The photos don’t indicate citizenship status. According to 2022 Census data, there were 4.8 million Indian Americans in the U.S. This includes Vice President JD Vance’s wife, Usha, their children, her parents and extended family.
French also said of UT, “It’s like they hate white Americans and prioritize everyone else.”
According to UT data, of nearly 55,000 students enrolled in the 2025-2026 school year, the greatest number were white, 16,610; followed by Hispanic (14,193); Asian (12,567); black (2,430), among others; 5,261 were international students.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who previously said French “doesn’t know anything about oil and gas” and his agenda “would wreck” the Texas oil and gas industry, said French’s message was “not my message. A selective picture of Longhorn fans celebrating our biggest home victory – ever – actually shows a way that Texans unite. We all support our college football teams.
“The way we win in the state is the same way we win football games,” Abbott said. We unite under the brand of Texas. That doesn’t mean that Texas cannot also lead in having the toughest immigration laws of any state in America and freezing H1B visas at our universities.”
Abbott has issued a series of directives to address H1-B visa fraud or abuse in Texas, including at public K-12 schools, universities and colleges and state agencies, The Center Square reported. The majority of HI-B visa holders are Indian and Chinese nationals, according to federal data.
Many Republicans in the Texas legislature called on French to delete his post, including House Speaker Dustin Burrows.
“You can oppose immigration policy without demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity – this post has crossed the line. Delete it,” he said.
In response to outgoing U.S. Sen. John Cornyn saying his posts were intolerant, racist and “how great political parties self-destruct,” French said, “Our state’s institutions have been overrun by illegal aliens and foreign nationals because of RINOs like John Cornyn who have cheered for them over our own citizens. He and the other America Last losers are mad that Texas Republicans are starting to put America First.”
He also doubled down on Sunday, saying, “Generations of Texans have invested billions of dollars into UT. Today it is filled with foreign nationals and Leftists who boo Ted Cruz. John Cornyn says we should accept decline. The voters I talk to want to return our institutions to serving the interests of citizens.”
Prior to the fourth quarter, as UT was getting crushed, many in the crowd booed and called for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who was in attendance, to leave. Historically, when Cruz attends sporting events in Texas, the Texas team loses. This trend, referred to as the “Ted Cruz Curse,” didn’t apply in this game.
French, like other Republicans in Texas, continue to drop in the polls. The prediction market Kalshi had French trailing his Democratic opponent, state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, by at least four points on Sunday. Rosenthal highlighted it saying, “I’m now the favorite to regulate the Texas oil and gas industry.”
He also said, “I spent 25 years oil and gas engineer. Bo French spent Sunday morning sorting our student section by skin color. Greg Abbott said Bo French would ‘wreck’ our oil and gas industry. A man who can’t tell a Longhorn from a foreigner has no business regulating anything in TX.”
Instead of calling on French to delete his posts, Patrick described his experience as a sports broadcaster interviewing Archie Manning. While playing for the Houston Oilers he “was surrounded by an awful team, but he was always a gentleman and a class act,” Patrick said.
Watching Arch Manning play reminded Patrick “of watching Archie’s sons, Peyton and Eli, who took over games single-handedly and rallied their team from a potential defeat to victory. The legend of Arch Manning has begun,” he said.
