Bo French, the Republican nominee for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, has doubled down on a social media post targeting Asian American students at the University of Texas, despite criticism from fellow Republicans.
French posted a photograph of students celebrating in the crowd on X on Sunday, writing: “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
The post, which had attracted more than 35 million views by Monday afternoon, prompted condemnation from Democrats and several Texas Republicans, including outgoing senator John Cornyn.
Mr Cornyn called on Republican officials to “condemn the intolerance and racism”. Several state lawmakers also rebuked Mr French, who responded by portraying the criticism as an attack by “the radical left and their allies” and using the controversy to make a fundraising appeal.
Appearing on the conservative radio programme The Mark Davis Show on Monday, Mr French defended the post and rejected claims that it was racist.
“The radical left, you know, they want to make everything about race,” he said. “Of course, there are some people in our party who are uncomfortable talking about those things because it scares them.”
Mr French said his comments were intended as a criticism of admissions and hiring policies at the University of Texas, which he claimed discriminated against residents of the state.
“It’s not racist to point out that we should be favoring Texans over foreigners,” he said.
There is no indication that the students shown in the photograph are foreigners. Most of the university’s students are Texans.
Under state law, Texas high school students in the top 5% of their class are automatically admitted to the University of Texas, while about 80% of the student body comes from within the state.
Mr French also criticised Mr Cornyn and other Republicans who had condemned him, suggesting that they belonged to the establishment wing of the party that had opposed him during the Republican primary.
“What is he doing to help elect [Ken] Paxton? So we have to ask those questions,” he said. “I just think we should be prioritizing our Republican platform, which, by the way, is an America First platform, which prioritizes Americans.”
The Texas Railroad Commission is the influential statewide body responsible for regulating the state’s oil and gas industry.
Mr French has previously made other controversial statements. Earlier this year, he suggested Republicans should fear Islam and advocated deporting 100 million people.
