When the No. 4 University of Texas Longhorns beat No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes in a 24-23 upset on Sept. 12, Texas Railroad Commissioner hopeful Bo French didn’t join other Texans in celebrating the victory.
Looking at photos of the post-game festivities in the stands, the former Tarrant County GOP chair saw a problem in the sea of burnt orange shirts: the faces of the celebrating students, cheering and smiling, were brown.
“I heard UT graduation this year looked like this,” he wrote in a post on X. “I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
As state and national condemnation followed, French doubled down on his initial comments with other posts.
“Like body-cams expose criminals, social media is exposing how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners,” French wrote in the post. “It’s everywhere and far worse than any of us could imagine.”
Now, French’s post, and his history of similar hateful rhetoric on social media, could have real effects on his campaign for an office that has only been held by Republicans for decades.
I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined. pic.twitter.com/Ys1bql0y4U
— Bo French (@bofrench) September 13, 2026
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. pic.twitter.com/Fz6t0tojdg
— Bo French (@bofrench) September 13, 2026
But it’s not just French who could be impacted. The ripple effects could also extend beyond French’s campaign, testing Texas’ GOP coalition at a time when Republicans were already concerned about voter turnout and enthusiasm this election.
“Most Republicans look at what Bo French did and say that it was repugnant, it shouldn’t have been done,” University of Houston political science researcher and professor Brandon Rottinghaus said. “But not all of them said he should step down from the race or in the past when he’s made such comments to remove himself from politics.”
French did not respond to multiple interview requests for this story.
‘PLAYING IDENTITY POLITICS’
Rottinghaus said the biggest overarching effect of French’s rhetoric is changing what voters view as acceptable from politicians.
“The Overton window is shifting on this,” Rottinghaus said. “The more to the extreme candidates talk about these issues, the more likely that the next generation of candidates upcoming will talk about those things in the exact same way.”
That could happen regardless of the outcome in French’s race, but a win would signal to other politicians that more overtly racist rhetoric is acceptable to voters.
Political linguist David Beaver agreed it will have effects on both political discourse and daily behavior of Texans and Americans at large.
Beaver, a professor at Universitat Graz in Austria and professor emeritus at the University of Texas, studies how the linguistics used in politics shapes discussions, mindsets and political behavior.
Dissecting French’s Sept. 13 post about the football game, Beaver said it achieves multiple goals for the railroad commission hopeful. Many of those goals find roots in establishing and strengthening identity politics.
“Bo French is playing identity politics,” Beaver said. “It’s what the right wing will always accuse Democrats of doing, but there’s no stronger identity politics than white nationalist identity politics in the US.”
When French wrote in the first post that the students being there was a problem that is “obviously far worse than anyone imagined” and in the second claimed that it is “far worse than any of us could imagine,” Beaver said that’s where French addresses the tweet to his in-group.
“Who is ‘anyone?’ Well, anyone means the white in-group, the ‘true Americans’ as he sees it,” Beaver said. “It doesn’t mean anyone — it means his friends. And this is just portraying anyone of color, but especially South Asian color, as not belonging.”
In a Sept. 14 appearance on the Mark Davis Show, French said his concern was university policies he believes favor foreigners over Americans. He also characterized his Republican critics as less conservative.
“It’s not about race, it’s about policy,” French told Davis.
Cal Jillson, a political science professor at SMU in Dallas, said the rhetoric French used in the post encapsulates an immigration argument made by conspiracy theorists for years.
The Great Replacement theory falsely claims that there is an effort to replace white Americans with immigrants who aren’t white.
“Bo French has not much of a filter between his emotions and his mouth and he believes all of this great replacement theory that Anglos are targeted for replacement by illegal immigrants from outside the country,” Jillson said. “So he says things that are to his political disadvantage.”
Beaver said it was also worth noting that the choice to use photos instead of explicitly racist language or slurs is still being made today. He referred to it as a “racial fig leaf,” borrowing the term from philosopher Jennifer Saul.
“The racism is hidden behind a fig leaf, behind a kind of thin veneer, but everybody knows it’s there,” Beaver said. “And that’s different from, let’s say, using the n-word. … The plausible deniability is interesting. It feels like a habit. There are certainly circles of modern rhetoric where there’s no longer even a fig leaf.”
The photo used by French is also worlds different from the presidential election campaign ad used by Republican George H. W. Bush in 1988 including a mugshot of Willie Horton, a black man, to accuse Democrat Michael Dukakis of being weak on crime. Beaver said the ad served as an example of a fig leaf in political ads.
While the ad did not explicitly say that Black people commit crimes, Beaver said that is widely seen by experts as the goal and helped Bush establish support from political groups based on identity.
Beaver said the use of the photo in French’s post seems to have the same goal.
To most people, Beaver said the photo French posted shows a group of university students celebrating a football win. No crimes have been committed.
“That’s not what this man sees,” Beaver said. “This man sees some sort of infection in our heartland. It’s a cruel and strange vision of my university.”
That French isn’t being as coy as others have in the past is noteworthy, too, both Beaver and Rottinghaus agreed.
Rottinghaus said other politicians become bolder when someone like French is successful.
“If Republicans can talk about these very inflammatory issues in racially motivated ways, and it allows them to survive in a heated political environment by juicing up the Republican base, then there really won’t be many restrictions on what Republicans are likely to do in the future,” Rottinghaus said.
As once-extreme rhetoric becomes more socially acceptable and the attached political identity groups grow, Beaver said the language people in the in-group use to differentiate themselves is often pushed further into the new fringes.
“Bo French is a fine example of that,” Beaver said. “If you want to make a name for yourself and attract attention, bad news is a way to do it.”
THE RISK TO OTHER REPUBLICANS
French’s posts haven’t hindered his political potential in the past.
But political science experts following French and the race for Texas Railroad Commissioner say that could change.
For the first time in three decades, several offices seen as GOP strongholds are in play. Democrat James Talarico holds a slim lead over Republican Ken Paxton in the race for Senate, 51 to 45 according to a Sept. 30 New York Times/Siena University poll.
That poll found that 49% of independents intend to vote Democrat compared to 35% who plan to vote Republican.
That same poll found Gov. Greg Abbott, seeking a fourth term as the state’s executive, has lost his narrow lead over Democrat challenger Gina Hinojosa, with the incumbent governor trailing the state senator 49% to 46%.
And not just to his own, but to other Republicans on the ballot.
Rottinghaus, the University of Houston political scientist, said French’s post comes at a time of political uncertainty in Texas that has made the Texas Railroad Commissioner election, a race that for decades has been largely overlooked by voters, competitive.
“There’s a lot of discontent about where Texas is headed,” Rottinghaus said.
He said the state’s size and the different industries and economies that call Texas home make it an international player in economics, but that economic health doesn’t translate to financial security for all Texans.
“There are a lot of people who are struggling to make ends meet,” Rottinghaus said. “I think that the underinvestment in Texas has finally gotten to the point where people are really unhappy about where things are, and they’re willing to blame incumbents to get there.”
Jillson said Republican leaders also face pressure from voters who agree with French. Rejecting him risks alienating a faction they may need in November, he said.
“There’s a faction on the right wing of the Republican Party that agrees with Bo French, that is not embarrassed by what he said and in fact think that he is speaking for them,” Jillson said.
There are other factors at play, too. Donald Trump’s insistence that he is on the ballot through other Republican candidates has backfired, hurting the candidates in the poll.
A Sept. 23 Marist poll also found that 39% of registered voters described their congressional vote as mostly a vote against Trump, compared with 25% who described it as a vote for him.
How French and the rest of the Republican ticket will perform in the face of negative attention is yet to be seen.
But national attention does not mean every voter has heard about French’s comments, Rottinghaus cautioned. Party loyalty can also protect a candidate from a scandal. Jillson said a vote for French would not necessarily signal agreement with his remarks.
And, Rottinghaus noted, many people may not have heard about French’s remarks and others who did will likely forget about it in the long weeks leading into Election Day.
“Despite the fact that this became national news for a couple of days, most people aren’t paying close attention to politics or election issues until we get really close to the election,” Rottinghaus said. “The people who have already made up their mind are going to vote for or against him regardless of this. The people who are potentially swing voters may not be exposed to this. It just may not be an issue.”
GOP SPLIT OVER FRENCH’S WORDS
Rottinghaus said the responses, not all of which were negative, show not all Republicans can agree on how to talk about immigration.
“Republicans can favor restrictive immigration policies while disagreeing over the rhetoric that assumes people’s citizenship or belonging based upon ethnic identity or appearance,” Rottinghaus said. “So, this opens up this rift when it comes to how Republicans want to talk about immigration politics.”
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn warned French would “drag the whole ticket down.” But he stopped short of backing Democrat Jon Rosenthal, telling the Washington Examiner he might leave the race blank.
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows also criticized the post, saying opposition to immigration policy did not justify demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity.
Glen Whitley, who served as Tarrant County judge as a Republican for more than a decade, said he would go further and vote for Rosenthal.
“I’m very disappointed in our state-wide leadership not condemning the comment, especially given the history and the fact that this is not just the first time,” Whitley told The Texas Newsroom.
Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick endorsed French after he won the primary. They did not withdraw those endorsements in response to the football post. Abbott said, “This is not my message,” and described the photo as showing Texans united around their team.
French did not respond to multiple interview requests for this story and his supporters have not been willing to speak to reporters on the record when requested.
Other conservatives defended French. Julie McCarty, who leads the activist group True Texas Project, supported French on a Facebook post.
“Anyone anti-Bo is anti-American,” she wrote on Facebook.
Gregory Bovino, the former commander-at-large for Border Patrol from October 2025 to January 2026, also supported French on social media.
“Thanks for highlighting,” he wrote in a reply to French’s tweet referencing police body cameras. “Mass deportations will solve it in very short order. Sad that politicians are selling out America for cheap labor and votes (both sides).”
They aren’t the only social media users to come out in support of French after the comments, though many of the accounts that have don’t include users real names or photos in their profiles.
The Texas Oil and Gas Association PAC, which endorsed French days before he made the post on X, said it does not support what he posted.
“TXOGA PAC unequivocally and without reservation condemns the recent tweet posted September 13th on X by Bo French,” Todd Staples, treasurer of the Texas Oil and Gas Association Good Government Committee, previously told the Texas Tribune. “Respect is a cornerstone of our industry’s core values.”
French scrubbed his social media after the post, deleting anything he posted on X before at least 2024.
Multiple experts said French’s comments showed an assumption that the students weren’t American-born because he was judging them based on their race with no evidence they were international students.
Whitley used much stronger words.
“He’s a racist,” Whitley said. “That’s what it comes down to. And in my opinion, he has no place in elected office.”
Blaise Gainey with The Texas Newsroom contributed to this report. Email him at bgainey@kut.org. Follow him on X @BlaiseGainey.
Got a tip? Email James Hartley at jhartley@kera.org. You can follow James on X @ByJamesHartley.
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