A social media post by a down-ballot Republican candidate is testing the Texas GOP’s effort to maintain unity in an already challenging election cycle.

Bo French, this year’s Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commission, posted a picture on September 13 of the University of Texas (UT) at Austin student section during its Saturday football game against Ohio State University, in which most of the students in the foreground appeared to be of Indian descent. 

“I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined,” French wrote in the caption.

French elaborated in another post that his remark referred to “foreigners.”

“I weep for the families in Texas who can’t get into UT because they prioritize foreigners over Texans,” French said.

Speaker of the Texas House Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) called on French to delete the post, claiming it “demean[s] people because of their race or ethnicity.”

Gov. Greg Abbott also responded with slight criticism.

“A selective picture of Longhorn fans celebrating our biggest home victory — ever — actually shows a way that Texans unite. We all support our college football teams. The way we win the state is the same way we win football games. We unite under the brand of Texas,” Abbott stated.

“That doesn’t mean that Texas cannot also lead in having the toughest immigration laws of any state in America and freezing H-1B visas at our universities,” he added.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, this year’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, said he “condemn[s] racism in all its forms” in response to a challenge by his opponent, state Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin), to condemn French — “including James Talarico saying white men are America’s top terror threat and that he prays to overcome his own ‘whiteness,’ whatever that means.”

French defeated outgoing Commissioner Jim Wright for the Republican nomination after the March primary election went to a razor-thin runoff. Wright was the party favorite, boasting endorsements by statewide politicians including Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham. 

French, a former chair of the Tarrant County GOP, ran with the endorsements of Turning Point Action and some elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Keith Self (R-TX-03) and state Reps. Mitch Little (R-Lewisville), Brent Money (R-Greenville), Andy Hopper (R-Decatur), and Wes Virdell (R-Brady). 

The Texas Railroad Commission regulates the Texas oil and gas industry.

For the sake of party unity, Abbott eventually lent public support to French after the primary results, posing for a picture with all non-judicial Republican statewide candidates in July — including Paxton and also Burrows, who is not a statewide candidate.

At the time, Abbott said the July meeting marked the “first time ever” that all statewide Republican candidates in Texas had joined to set a group campaign strategy. 

The unprecedented gesture of unity took place amid an election year that may prove challenging for Texas Republicans, with Paxton in particular polling poorly in several major surveys.

Other Republican members of the Texas House that condemned French’s post include state Reps. Lacey Hull (R-Houston), Drew Darby (R-San Angelo), Jeff Leach (R-Plano), Jared Patterson (R-Frisco), Matt Shaheen (R-Frisco), and Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), the former speaker of the Texas House.

Outgoing U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), whom Paxton is running to replace, also condemned French’s remarks as “intolerance and racism.”

Hopper in turn criticized Cornyn, calling him a “smug globalist.” 

State Rep. Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston), French’s Democratic opponent, thanked Cornyn for his statement.

The Texas Oil and Gas Association issued a statement condemning French’s post, but it has not withdrawn its endorsement for him.