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Jon Rosenthal Defeats Bo French In Texas Railroad Commissioner Race After Racist Comments
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Democrat Jon Rosenthal defeated Bo French to win the Texas Railroad Commission. Bo French faced backlash for racist, anti-Muslim, antisemitic comments.
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Rosenthal wins Texas seat
Democrat Jon Rosenthal won the Texas Railroad Commissioner race, defeating Republican Bo French after CBS News projected that French refused to reconsider racist, anti-Muslim and antisemitic comments.
“With about 93% of votes counted, Rosenthal led French 52.5% to 45.6%.”
CBS News projected a vote split with about 93% of votes counted, as Rosenthal led French 52.5% to 45.6%.
The Texas Railroad Commission regulates the state's oil and gas industry, and CBS News said the industry accounts for over 40% of the U.S. crude oil output.
The contest centered on French's posts about University of Texas students, and CBS News said French wrote that the students were a "problem" because they appeared to be of South Asian descent.
Raja Krishnamoorthi later mocked French on X, writing "Bye bye, Bo. Bigotry is a losing strategy," after Democrat Jon Rosenthal defeated French in the November 3 election.
Backlash over UT posts
French's campaign drew condemnation after he posted an image of University of Texas students and suggested their presence showed how Americans were being displaced by foreigners, and NBC News said he faced widespread backlash for anti-immigrant, Islamophobic and antisemitic comments.
NBC News quoted French writing on X, "I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined."
Sen. John Cornyn said he would not vote for French, and NBC News said Karl Rove would vote for Rosenthal instead.
Texas Monthly described French's UT post as a breaking point, and it said voters rejected him by electing Rosenthal to the open seat on the three-member Railroad Commission.
Rosenthal condemned French's remarks as an “unacceptable, extreme, racist rant,” and the Dallas News said Rosenthal campaigned on stronger oversight of the oil and gas industry.
What changes next
Rosenthal will serve a six-year term on the Texas Railroad Commission, and NBC News said he will be one of three members regulating oil and gas production in the state. The Hill said Bo French lost the race to Rosenthal, and it said French lost support from several prominent Republicans after he posted on social media about University of Texas at Austin students of South Asian descent. The Guardian said Rosenthal will join the three-member body that Democrats have been shut out of for decades, and it said the contest's policy debates were largely eclipsed by French's inflammatory rhetoric.
“Rosenthal will be one of three members of the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas production in the state.”
Rosenthal wrote on X that he was "humbled and honored" by the faith placed in him by the people of Texas, and he said the politics of hate and division do not win in the Lone Star State. The Guardian also said the win came amid a seismic blue wave in Texas that catapulted Democrats Gina Hinojosa into the governor’s mansion and James Talarico into the US Senate, dealing a blow to the GOP’s tight grip on the Lone Star state.