From The Texas Tribune · Will Hammann · · 1m 20s
Cornyn won't vote for French after racist post
The senior Texas senator says the railroad commission candidate is an embarrassment to the Republican Party.
In brief
The senior Texas senator says the railroad commission candidate is an embarrassment to the Republican Party. A racist social media post by Bo French has cost him support from top Texas Republicans, including Senator John Cornyn. Originally reported by The Texas Tribune.
Cornyn refuses to back French
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn says he won't vote for Bo French for railroad commissioner after French called Asian students at UT a "problem."
An embarrassment to the party
Cornyn called French an embarrassment to Republicans who will drag down the whole ticket. He may leave his ballot blank or vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal.
“He's an embarrassment to the Republican Party, and he's going to drag the whole ticket down because of his racist comments.”
Widespread Republican backlash
Other prominent Republicans condemned French too, including Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows. French has doubled down on his comments.
Cornyn posts daily criticism
Cornyn has posted about the issue daily on X, including sharing a Karl Rove op-ed titled "Why I'm Voting for a Texas Democrat."
The original racist post
French commented on a video of UT students celebrating a football win, focusing on South Asian students. He claimed UT graduation "looked like this" and called it a problem.
“I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
Oil and gas stays silent
Texas' oil and gas industry has mostly stayed quiet on French's racist post, despite his candidacy for the railroad commission that regulates them.
The bottom line
A racist social media post by Bo French has cost him support from top Texas Republicans, including Senator John Cornyn.
