Texas GOP Candidate Faces Backlash Over Comment on UT Crowd
Bo French, the Republican running for Texas Railroad Commissioner, drew criticism from his own party after he complained that a video of a University of Texas football crowd showed too many people of color, according to NPR.
The complaint focused on students in the stands. The Railroad Commission, which oversees oil and gas in Texas, acts like a referee for that industry.
The backlash followed a Saturday game in which Texas beat Ohio State, according to a Washington Post account of the episode. French criticized fans who were celebrating the win. That criticism drew backlash from Republicans, as described in News.com.au reporting.
In social media posts after the game, French called Asian students at UT a "problem," according to the Texas Tribune. Sen. John Cornyn criticized French over the post. French did not back down. He repeated his position on a conservative radio show and described politicians who criticized him as "less-conservative people," according to the Texas Tribune in a follow-up report.
The latest account came from NPR. Its report, titled 'Texas Republican candidate under fire for comment about university students of color,' was published Sept. 18, 2026 at 4:45 AM ET and heard on Morning Edition. Natalie Weber reported the story.
The broader context here is how parties handle damage. A statewide candidate made a racial complaint about his own university's fans. A sitting senator rebuked him. The candidate then used conservative media to recast that rebuke as ideological. Condemnation is meant to contain damage. Doubling down is meant to turn that condemnation into support with primary voters.
In my view, that tradeoff explains why the story grew. Other Republicans can repeat the criticism and risk keeping the story alive. They can move on and risk leaving the original comment unanswered. That choice turned a comment about a football crowd video into a statewide party story in less than a week.
