Bo French refuses to back down as Texas GOP rebukes UT Austin post

Texas Republican candidate for Railroad Commissioner Bo French is refusing to back away from social media posts targeting South Asian students at the University of Texas at Austin. The posts have drawn public rebukes from top Texas Republicans, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, House Speaker Dustin Burrows and Gov. Greg Abbott, who described French’s framing as not his “message.”

On X, French reposted a screenshot from a Longhorn football hype video after their win against Ohio State that featured a portion of the student section with several South Asian students.

“I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined,” French commented. He then reposted the same image adding, “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.”

Outgoing U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, responded to French’s post by calling on other Republican elected officials to “condemn the intolerance and racism” displayed by French. Several did.

“Please delete this. This post breaks my heart,” State Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, said.

“This is racist. It is wrong. And I condemn it without reservation,” State Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, said.

One of the strongest rebukes came from Speaker of the Texas House Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, who called on French to delete the post.

“You can oppose immigration policy without demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity,” Burrows wrote.

Few went as far as saying Texans should not vote for French in November.

“Speaker Burrows continues to support every Republican candidate on the ballot,” Burrows Director of Communication Kim Carmichael said in a statement.

Nexstar asked Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, if he condemned the comments and if he still supports French in November.

In response, Abbott’s campaign sent a statement he had previously given to other outlets.

“That is 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 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 H1B visas at our universities.”

Attorney General and Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Ken Paxton posted, “I condemn racism in all its forms, including James Talarico saying white men’s are America’s top terror threat and that he prays to overcome his own ‘whiteness,’ whatever that means.”

When asked whether he specifically condemns French’s posts, Paxton’s campaign did not respond.

On Monday morning, French doubled down on the Mark Davis Show on 660 AM The Answer.

“It’s not about race, it’s about policy. I believe that we should be prioritizing Americans, not foreigners. And so the problem as I see is that there are , and I think a lot of people would agree with this , that too many of our institutions are prioritizing people who are not Americans,” French said.

State law does prioritize Texans in admissions. 90% of UT’s first-year students must be in-state residents, and the top 5% of students from all Texas high schools must be automatically admitted to the university. In Fall 2025, 4.3% of UT undergraduate students were international.

UT freshman Sumit Kalaimani was in the student section on Saturday celebrating the Longhorn win and can be seen in the background of the photo shared by French.

“It was a very unifying moment. Looking at that post, it misrepresents what the game was. It’s a very biased light to show it as one demographic rather than the true mixed crowd that it was,” said Kalaimani, who was born in Texas to an American father and Indian mother. Kalaimani’s parents are currently U.S. citizens.

The University of Texas system also does not consider race or ethnicity in its admissions processes after a 2023 Supreme Court ruling barred them from doing so.

“It’s a slap in the face to kids who undoubtedly work hard. When you look at the stats of the kids who get in here on average, there’s a reason why the school is ranked so high,” said Kalaimani. “There’s a reason why there’s a certain group of kids who get in, and trying to represent it as one ethnic group when it actually is insanely mixed is super disrespectful to the kids who put in the work to get here.”

Two high-level representatives from UT also commented.

“When I stood on the sidelines at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium Saturday night and looked up at the seats filled with incredible fans, I saw Longhorns. It’s the same remarkable view I have at graduation ceremonies and anytime I’m on campus. I’m proud to celebrate all our Longhorn students today and every day. Thank you for making us proud,” UT system chair Kevin P. Eltife said in a statement. Eltife served as a Republican state senator from 2004 to 2017.

“Proud to stand with Chairman Eltife,” UT Austin President Jim Davis said. “Our students are exceptional. All of them are Longhorns.”

French’s history of controversial rhetoric predates the recent posts. In March, French explicitly encouraged GOP leaders to more openly embrace Islamophobia and called for the deportation of 100 million people. Last summer, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, R, called on French to resign as head of the Tarrant County Republican party after French posted a poll asking if Jews or Muslims are a bigger threat to America.

French’s opponent, Democratic candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner Jon Rosenthal, praised his Republican colleagues who condemned French’s remarks and called on more Republicans to do the same.

“He chose to make negative comments about the students and picked a section of students because of the color of their skin and made boldly racist remarks about that. The people of the state of Texas deserve better. They deserve to elect public servants who will serve everybody, not just a chosen few,” Rosenthal said.