Overview
- Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, posted a photo of University of Texas football fans on X and captioned it to suggest "foreigners" were displacing Americans, using the image of predominantly South Asian students to make his point.
- Students pictured in the post called the targeting jarring and racist and told reporters that several of them are U.S. citizens or long-time Americans, which undercuts French’s characterization.
- Leading Texas Republicans, including Sen. John Cornyn, Gov. Greg Abbott, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, and other statewide figures publicly condemned the post and urged French to delete it.
- French defended the post on conservative radio by linking it to H‑1B visa and residency rules that he says can affect in-state tuition and then doubled down online by reposting Cornyn’s statement, calling him a "RINO" and claiming state institutions have been "overrun."
- The episode has prompted institutional statements from UT leaders, widened an establishment-versus-far-right rift inside the Texas GOP, and created a political liability for Republicans as ballot mailings and the fall campaign proceed.