Bo French Has Stood by Comments About UT Students That Drew Accusations of Racism
The Texas Organizing Project Political Action Committee is condemning Republican Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French after social media posts targeting University of Texas students drew accusations of racism and criticism from Republicans and Democrats.
French shared a photograph showing a group of UT students, many of them South Asian, celebrating the Longhorns’ football victory over Ohio State.
I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.
Bo French
French also referred to the students as “foreigners” while arguing Americans were being displaced. The citizenship status of everyone pictured is not publicly known, but one student identified in the photograph told reporters he is a naturalized U.S. citizen.
TOP PAC Condemns French’s Remarks
TOP PAC called French’s comments racist and said the controversy reflects the divisive politics it is working against ahead of the November midterm elections.
Bo can double-down on his racism all he’d like, but at the end of the day, more and more Texans have had it with MAGA’s divisive politics and agitators who spew hate.
TOP PAC
The organization said Texans want leaders who will “lift up ALL communities and fight to lower prices,” and emphasized its door-to-door outreach to Black and Latino voters this election cycle.
Republicans Join The Criticism
French has also faced criticism from within his own party. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called the remarks racism and intolerance, while several Republican state lawmakers publicly condemned the posts.
French has not backed down. During a Monday radio appearance, he defended his comments and argued that universities should prioritize Americans over foreign students.
UT enrollment figures, however, show international students represented about 4% of undergraduates during the 2025-26 school year. State law also requires 90% of UT Austin’s incoming freshman class to be Texas residents.
French is running against Democrat Jon Rosenthal and Libertarian Arthur DiBianca for the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state’s oil and gas industry.
