Texas Republicans on Sunday publicly rebuked the party's nominee for railroad commissioner, Bo French, after he posted a message targeting University of Texas at Austin students of South Asian descent. The post, which French shared on X, featured a photo of South Asian students at a football game and captioned it with a suggestion that they were taking over the campus.
French first reposted an image from another user with the caption “Bollywood University,” then added his own comment: “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
The backlash was swift and bipartisan in tone, though it came primarily from within his own party. Senator John Cornyn, who lost the GOP primary to Attorney General Ken Paxton and is finishing his term, wrote on X: “This is the Republican nominee for statewide office. Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized. This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad.”
Representative Dan Crenshaw also weighed in, calling the post racist and unacceptable. Texas state Representative Lacey Hull urged French to delete the post, saying, “This post breaks my heart. I see college kids cheering on their football team. I see Texans.” House Speaker Dustin Burrows echoed that sentiment, arguing that French can oppose immigration policies “without demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity – this post has crossed the line.”
French, however, fired back at Cornyn, labeling him a “RINO” and accusing him of cheering for “illegal aliens and foreign nationals.” In a follow-up post, French wrote: “He and the other America Last losers are mad that Texas Republicans are starting to put America First.”
Governor Greg Abbott declined to condemn the post directly. Speaking to NBC News, he said, “The way we win the state is the same way we win football games. 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 H-1B visas at our universities.” His comments drew criticism from those who saw them as evasive.
Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for Senate, also avoided directly addressing French’s post. Instead, he pivoted to attack his Democratic opponent, James Talarico, writing: “Only one person in this race has a history of dividing Texans by race, and it’s James Talarico. I will continue to focus on uniting our State and bringing together the broadest possible coalition to fight for Texas, our values, and our families.” Talarico had earlier thanked Cornyn for speaking out and challenged Paxton to either “condemn this blatant racism or will you cower to extremists?”
This is not the first time French has faced scrutiny for inflammatory remarks. He has previously used slurs against the LGBTQ community and faced accusations of antisemitism and Islamophobia. When asked by Dallas news outlet WFAA-TV in July whether he regretted those comments, French said he did not, adding, “Truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth.”
The episode highlights a growing fissure within the Texas GOP between establishment figures and candidates aligned with the party’s more hardline base. Cornyn’s warning about “self-destruction” reflects broader concerns about the party’s direction as it heads into the 2026 midterms. Meanwhile, the silence from Abbott and Paxton suggests they are wary of alienating the grassroots activists who support French’s rhetoric.
The controversy also comes amid ongoing debates over immigration and university admissions policies in Texas, where Republican leaders have pushed for stricter limits on H-1B visas and other programs that attract international students. French’s post taps into that anxiety, but his critics argue it crosses a line into outright racism. As the race for railroad commissioner—a position that oversees oil and gas pipelines—moves forward, French’s candidacy may continue to test the party’s tolerance for such rhetoric.
