A sharp dispute has broken out within the Texas Republican Party after Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, published a series of inflammatory social media posts targeting South Asian college students. French’s comments, made following a high-profile college football matchup over the weekend, have drawn direct and severe criticism from several prominent state and federal lawmakers within his own party.
The controversy originated following a major college football showdown at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin on Saturday night. During the contest, the Texas Longhorns rallied from behind to secure a dramatic comeback victory over the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. While fans across the state celebrated the athletic victory, French focused his attention on the racial makeup of the crowd gathered in the stadium.
Early Sunday morning, French shared an image from the stadium stands that captured a crowd of students celebrating late in the fourth quarter or shortly after the conclusion of the game. A significant number of the students pictured in the crowd appeared to be of South Asian heritage. French expressed immediate disapproval of the demographic scene depicted in the image.
Accompanying the photograph, French wrote that he had previously heard that this year's University of Texas graduation ceremony looked similar, adding that he initially doubted the reports. He asserted in his post that the situation was now clearly far worse than anyone had previously envisioned.
French subsequently expanded on his initial post in the comment section, arguing that students who appear to be of South Asian heritage are improperly favored during the admissions process. He alleged that university administration officials are prioritizing foreigners over Texas residents when granting entrance into the institution.
Approximately one hour after his initial post, French doubled down on his assertions by publishing the same crowd photograph a second time. In his follow-up statement, he compared the role of social media in revealing demographic shifts to that of body-worn cameras used by law enforcement to capture criminal activity.
In that second post, French asserted that social media was actively revealing the extent to which native Americans were being displaced by foreign individuals. He claimed that this trend was occurring everywhere and was substantially more severe than the public realized.
The posts quickly prompted strong condemnation from fellow Republicans, led by outgoing United States Senator John Cornyn. Cornyn responded publicly on the social media platform X, directly addressing French’s role as the party's nominee for a prominent statewide position.
In his public rebuke, Cornyn questioned whether other elected Republican officials would openly reject the intolerance and racism on display, or if they would choose to ignore the behavior as it becomes normalized. Cornyn cautioned that allowing such rhetoric to take root is precisely how major political organizations undergo self-destruction, characterizing the situation as sad.
Senior Republican leaders within the Texas Legislature also intervened to criticize the Railroad Commission nominee. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows publicly called upon French to take down the offensive social media publication on Sunday.
Burrows was joined in his condemnation by state Representatives Jeff Leach and Lacey Hull, both of whom echoed the Speaker's demand that French delete the remarks regarding the celebrating students.
Rather than retracting his statements or issuing an apology, French chose to escalate the feud by issuing a direct attack against Cornyn on X shortly after the senator's post appeared. French dismissed the criticism and accused the longtime lawmaker of betraying conservative principles.
In his rebuttal, French claimed that public institutions across Texas have been overrun by foreign nationals and undocumented immigrants due to the actions of what he labeled Republicans in Name Only, singling out Cornyn directly. French alleged that Cornyn had favored outside populations over Texas citizens and claimed that political opponents were merely angered that Texas Republicans were embracing an "America First" agenda.
The weekend exchange is not the first instance in which French has faced widespread scrutiny over anti-immigrant and xenophobic commentary. In March, French expressed views characterizing Islam as a movement that seeks to infiltrate and dominate the state of Texas.
During those earlier March remarks, the former Tarrant County GOP chair also advocated for the deportation of American Muslims. Those statements similarly provoked significant backlash and formal condemnation from multiple members of the Texas Republican Party.
The ongoing clash underscores deepening tensions among Texas Republicans as candidates compete for statewide office. French’s continued use of hardline rhetoric regarding race, immigration, and religion continues to draw public rebukes from establishment figures and legislative leaders across the state.
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