Bo French, a Republican candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission, faced a significant drop in his electoral prospects after sharing a controversial social media post. The post, criticized as racist, has led to widespread condemnation from within his party.
French, who identifies as a ‘MAGA conservative’ on his campaign site, shared a picture on his X account. The image showed students of Asian descent celebrating the University of Texas’ football victory over Ohio State. The caption read: “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
This post has been viewed 27 million times and has sparked criticism. Prominent Republican lawmakers expressed disapproval. Senator John Cornyn posted on X: “Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized?”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott responded to the situation, stating to Politico: “That is not my message. A selective picture of Longhorn fans celebrating our biggest home victory-ever-actually shows a way that Texans unite. We all support our college football teams.”
French’s chances in the election markets have notably declined. On the Kalshi prediction market, his prospects fell by 10 percent, down to 62 percent, from 72 percent Sunday morning.
Newsweek reached out to the French campaign, the University of Texas, and the White House for comments outside regular working hours.
This story is evolving and will be updated with new information.