US Midterms 2026: Bo French, who targeted Indian and South Asian students of University of Texas, loses Texas Railroad Commission race

Bo French lost the Texas Railroad Commissioner race to Democrat Jon Rosenthal in the US Midterms on November 3, following the controversy over his social media posts targeting Indian and South Asian American students at the University of Texas at Austin. Rosenthal became the first Democrat to hold a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission since 1990. The three-member commission regulates the state's oil and gas industry, making it an important institution in one of America's largest energy-producing states. Though it was essentially a local official election, the race gained prominence due to French's posts. Upon victory, Rosenthal said the result sent a message that "the politics of hate no longer work".

In a separate major upset, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott also lost his re-election bid to Democrat Gina Hinojosa. The defeat ended more than three decades of Republican control of the governor's office. Abbott had been seeking a fourth term and was an ally of President Donald Trump.

Bo French's controversial post targeting Indian and South Asian students

In September, French posted a photo of Indian and South Asian American students celebrating a University of Texas Longhorns football victory over Ohio State. The Longhorns had secured a dramatic home win against the then top-ranked Ohio State team. Along with the photo on X, French wrote: "I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined."

In another post in the same thread, he argued that the university was prioritising foreigners over Texans, claiming that American families were being denied admission opportunities. His remarks triggered widespread criticism, including from prominent Republicans in Texas.

French had previously made similar controversial remarks about immigration and the alleged displacement of Americans by foreigners. His posts frequently targeted diversity at American institutions and questioned the presence of foreign students and workers.

Indian-American students, fellow Republicans criticised Bo French

Some of the students in the photo were actually American citizens. One of them was Dhairya Gupta, a University of Texas computer science student and a naturalised US citizen. He described French's remarks as deeply offensive.

US Senator John Cornyn publicly condemned French's remarks, calling them intolerant and racist and urging other Republican leaders to speak out. Republican Texas House members, including Lacey Hull and Jared Patterson, criticised the posts and called on French to delete them.

The controversy also brought attention to the university's admission policies. Under Texas law, 90 per cent of University of Texas freshmen must be Texas residents, and the rest can be both out-of-state and international students. This contradicts the implied claims by French that the university was overwhelmingly prioritising foreign applicants.

The backlash brought national attention to the Texas Railroad Commissioner race, gaining visibility to Rosenthal's campaign. His victory marked a significant political breakthrough for Texas Democrats and ended decades of Republican dominance on the commission.