Texas GOP Nominee Bo French's Anti-Chinese Post Draws Attention Ahead of Nov. 3 Election
AUSTIN — Past public remarks about immigrants and Chinese people by Bo French, the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, have drawn renewed attention as the Nov. 3 election approaches, and the remarks have circulated in recent days in Chinese community groups in Texas.
Despite its name, the Railroad Commission of Texas regulates the state's oil and gas industry, not railroads. French, 56, is a former chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party whose family runs an oil business in Midland. On May 26, he defeated incumbent Commissioner Jim Wright by about one percentage point in the Republican runoff to win the nomination, and he faces Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal on Nov. 3.
According to The Texas Tribune, French spoke on March 27 at a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) panel in Grapevine titled "Don't Sharia My Texas," where he said Republicans should more openly embrace "Islamophobia." He also said that roughly 100 million people in the United States "shouldn't be here" and should be deported. Spectrum News quoted him as saying: "It is that we have roughly 100 million people in this country who shouldn't be here."
Estimates by multiple research organizations put the unauthorized immigrant population of the United States at about 14 million. The 100 million figure French cited is far larger, and The Texas Tribune and other outlets have noted that reaching it would necessarily include legal immigrants and naturalized U.S. citizens.
In July, after winning the Republican nomination, French posted on the social platform X: "Ok boys, it's time to go round up all the Chinese and send them packing!" According to the San Antonio Current, he had also posted that Democratic state Rep. Salman Bhojani, who was born in Pakistan and is a naturalized U.S. citizen, should be denaturalized and deported, and he said he would dig into the family of Texas House Democratic leader Gene Wu, a Chinese American lawmaker, writing that "the (Chinese Communist Party) connection is strong I bet," while also calling for Wu's deportation.
On Sept. 13, French posted a photograph of South Asian students celebrating at a University of Texas at Austin football game, saying Americans were being "displaced by foreigners," drawing criticism from both parties. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called the remarks racist and "an embarrassment to the Republican Party" and said he would not vote for French; Republican strategist Karl Rove said he would vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal; and Gov. Greg Abbott said, "That is not my message."
French responded to the September criticism by saying he had nothing against the people in the photograph and describing his critics as the "less conservative" people in the party. According to the San Antonio Current, French did not respond to requests for comment about his remarks.
French's campaign website lists endorsements from Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, U.S. Rep. Keith Self and a number of Texas state representatives and Republican nominees. Abbott and Patrick had backed his opponent Jim Wright in the Republican primary; after French won the nomination, Abbott endorsed him.
Railroad Commissioners are elected statewide to six-year terms. The commission issues drilling permits and oversees pipelines and natural gas facilities, making it the Texas oil and gas industry's chief regulator.
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Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Austin 的德克萨斯州议会大厦（资料照片）。图片来源：Farragutful／Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 4.0）。The Texas State Capitol in Austin (file photo). Source: Farragutful / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
