A severe rift has opened within the Texas Republican Party after U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and multiple state legislative leaders publicly condemned Bo French, the GOP nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, over social media remarks disparaging non-white students at the University of Texas at Austin.
The controversy erupted after French, the former chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party, published an image on the social media platform X showing a group of students of color celebrating during a recent Longhorns football game in Austin.
Alongside the photo, French claimed that the presence of minority students demonstrated that Texas higher education institutions are being overrun by undocumented immigrants and foreign nationals. He asserted that he had previously heard comparable descriptions of this year's University of Texas commencement ceremonies and found the reality to be far worse than anyone had anticipated.
The post triggered immediate pushback from Sen. Cornyn, who publicly called on Republican elected officials across the state to repudiate French's rhetoric rather than allow discriminatory messaging to take root within the party's statewide ticket.
In his public statement, Cornyn warned of the long-term political consequences of tolerating such behavior from a nominee for statewide office. He questioned whether fellow Republicans would actively denounce the intolerance and racism or look the other way while it becomes normalized, cautioning that permitting such views is precisely how great political parties self-destruct.
The sharp rebuke comes during the final chapter of Cornyn's extensive political career. His 23-year tenure in the United States Senate is drawing to a close following his defeat in the Republican primary runoff to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Rather than deleting the controversial message or walking back his statements, French doubled down on his assertions and launched a counter-offensive targeting Cornyn and establishment party members.
In a follow-up post on X, French labeled the state's senior senator and other critics as "RINOs," an acronym for Republicans in Name Only, as well as "America Last losers." French accused Cornyn of being anti-American, claiming that state institutions have been compromised because established party leaders have supported non-white individuals over native citizens.
The internal party feud highlighted broader ideological divisions when State Rep. Andy Hopper stepped forward to defend the Railroad Commission candidate. Hopper, who recently won the Republican primary for Texas' 64th Congressional District, backed French and dismissed Cornyn's reprimand, characterizing the veteran senator as a smug globalist.
Despite Hopper's support, criticism of French continued to mount among prominent leadership figures in the Texas House of Representatives. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows rebuked French on social media, emphasizing that legitimate disagreements over immigration policy must not devolve into racial or ethnic disparagement.
Burrows asserted that French's commentary had definitively crossed an acceptable boundary and demanded that the candidate remove the post from his account.
Key legislative allies of Speaker Burrows quickly joined the call for the post's immediate removal. State Rep. Lacey Hull of Houston voiced profound disappointment with French's characterization of the student body, describing the social media post as heartbreaking.
In her public message on X, Hull urged French to delete the photo, explaining that when she looked at the image, she did not see foreign invaders, but rather young college students cheering on their football team and proud Texans.
State Rep. Jeff Leach of Plano, another close legislative ally of Burrows, aligned with Hull and the House Speaker in demanding that French delete the disparaging publication from his platform.
The weekend clash represents the latest in a series of highly controversial declarations by French throughout his campaign for statewide office. Earlier this year, the former county party chair drew widespread scrutiny after publicly calling for the deportation of 100 million Americans.
French has also faced severe rebukes from top state executive leadership, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. In May, Abbott strongly admonished the nominee, warning that French would wreck the state's essential oil and gas industry if elected to the regulatory commission. French has consistently anchored his campaign platform on combative rhetoric, pledging to end diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the Texas energy sector and promising to halt what he termed an Islamic invasion of the state.
Neither Cornyn nor French were available to provide further comment prior to publication, leaving the Texas GOP to navigate an escalating public controversy surrounding its statewide nominee.
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