In the days leading up to the GOP primary runoffs in May, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a stern warning about Bo French, a Republican running for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission that regulates the state’s oil and gas industry.
“His agenda would wreck the miracle that we have in producing more oil and gas than ever before,” Abbott said at an event where he stumped for French’s primary opponent, Jim Wright.
Abbott wasn’t the only Texas Republican fighting to keep French out of office. GOP leadership up and down the ranks opposed him.
At the time, however, none of those Republicans attempting to topple French made mention of his long and well-documented history of routinely racist, antisemitic, homophobic, able-ist and anti-trans comments on social media, including when he declared just last October that an approaching end to SNAP services would be “National Chimp Out Day.”
Ultimately, French won the primary, and Abbott and the Republican Party unified around French.
Now with fewer than 50 days to go until November’s midterm elections, French is ducking a battery of criticism directed squarely at him — even from within his own party — after he posted a picture on social media of mostly South Asian University of Texas at Austin students celebrating an epic football victory last weekend with a caption that said the scene shows “how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners.”
Even as a long line of Republicans condemn French — calling his comments racist — none have rescinded their endorsements. Meanwhile, some party leaders — like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — have remained silent. Others have offered thin castigations that don’t address French or his words.
French did not respond to a request for comment or interview.
Among French’s loudest critics this week was Rep. Jeff Leach of Plano, who told French to delete the post on Sunday. Leach also shared a photo of his son, another UT student, at the game with a caption saying, “Bo thinks it’s a ‘problem’ they don’t all look like and have the same skin color as [him]. I think that’s racist — and it makes me sick.”
But Leach said this week he still plans to vote for French.
“I’m voting for every Republican up and down the ballot,” Leach told WFAA. “Look, in that race I might have to hold my nose to do so. But voting for the Democrat in this race? I know him, and he’s a radical.”
On Sunday, House Speaker Dustin Burrows quickly called on French to delete his post for “demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity” and adding that “this post has crossed the line.”
Asked if the speaker plans to endorse French or campaign with him, Burrows said in a statement that his “position has never changed. I support the entire Republican ticket. Period. Full stop.”
Only two Republicans so far have said they are moved enough to withhold votes for French. First, Karl Rove, privately said at an Austin luncheon that he plans to vote for French’s Democratic opponent — the first time he will not vote for a Republican in three decades, The Texas Tribune reported.
“The GOP has a growing number of Bo Frenches — and not only in Texas,” he later wrote in a Wall Street Journal column confirming the report. “These people are diminishing the Republican Party, not building it. I’ll have no part of it.”
On Thursday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who was the first Republican to publicly criticize French over his tweet, confirmed he would not vote for French, though he did not commit to voting for Democrat state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, a Houston Democrat who is also an oil and gas engineer.
"He's an embarrassment to the Republican Party, and he's going to drag the whole ticket down because of his racist comments,” Cornyn said. "I may just leave it blank."
Democrats, eager to capture their first statewide victory in Texas since 1994, point out that Republicans had ample opportunity to draw a line with French. The silence is a choice, they argue.
“I am not being facetious: Bo French is an opinion leader within the base of the Republican Party and it is why the top nominees are afraid to so openly break with him,” Democratic strategist Matt Angle said. “They believe they need Bo French in order to keep their base riled up.”
Indeed, French’s reputation is well defined.
By the time he announced his Railroad Commission bid in November, he had questioned whether Democrats were “retarted,” or “gay”; polled his social media followers about whether Muslims or Jews posed “a bigger threat to America?”; urged the federal government to “denaturalize and deport” a Democratic state lawmaker who was born in Pakistan and is a naturalized U.S. citizen; and contemplated a “deep dive” into Texas Democratic House leader Rep. Gene Wu’s family, writing in a social media post “the (Chinese Communist Party) connection is strong I bet.” He also called for Wu’s deportation.
He has been deleting old posts, according to his social media.
Once a candidate in a competitive primary, French did not stop — even as Wright, the incumbent, racked up the backing from key industry leaders and other elected officials. Three weeks after forcing a runoff, French encouraged Republicans to openly embrace “Islamaphobia” and called for the deportation of 100 million people. By high-end estimates, there are some 14 million undocumented people in the country.
After winning the primary, this summer, he said, “it's time to go round up all the Chinese and send them packing!” and that he “won't rest until every muslim is gone.”
During the primary season, Abbott was the most critical of French among Wright’s allies. The governor changed his tune when French was declared the victor on election night. “Republicans are UNITED and ready to win in November to keep Texas, TEXAS!” he said in a social media post congratulating the same man he had roasted on the campaign trail.
Abbott then endorsed French. When asked about French’s UT post Sunday, the governor said “that is not my message” and that the photograph actually depicted how Texans unite. “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,” he added.
Two of the students in the image have since said that they are U.S. citizens.
Abbott’s campaign did not respond to a list of questions that included whether he plans to campaign with French or whether he took issue with any of French’s previous slurs, antisemitic remarks or his promotion of deporting and denaturalizing people with whom he disagrees. Or why the state’s commander-in-chief included the section about immigration and visas in his statement.
Patrick, who last year condemned French for an antisemitic post and called on him to resign as Tarrant County GOP chair, has yet to weigh in on French’s comment. His campaign did not respond to a list of questions.
Rosenthal, who is Jewish and has been the recipient of some of French’s antisemitic attacks, is hopeful the French baggage — paired with the numerous scandals of Ken Paxton, a French ally who is the Republican Senate nominee — will hurt all GOP candidates.
“It's hard to separate yourself from the top of your ticket,” Rosenthal said. “It's something all of them have to bear because that's your party.”
No less, an abundance of supporters have emerged to defend French — even as party leaders tow a fine line.
One of them is Brandon Hall, who sits on the state board of education, the governing board charged with establishing curricula, standards and policies for nearly 5.5 million school children.
“I stand with Bo,” Hall wrote on social media. “It has nothing to do with skin color. It’s about preserving our Texas way of life.”
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
