Cornyn won’t vote for Bo French in Texas race

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) says he won’t vote for Bo French, the Republican nominee for the powerful post of Texas railroad commissioner, because of his “racist” online comments.

Cornyn called French “an embarrassment to the Republican Party” after he posted on social media a photo of a racially diverse group of University of Texas football fans, including several people of South Asian descent, and wrote: “The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”

“He’s going to drag the whole ticket down because of his racist comments,” Cornyn warned Thursday.

But the senior Texas Republican senator stopped short of throwing his support to the Democratic nominee for commissioner, state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, who is from Houston.

“I may just leave it blank,” he said of his ballot.

The Texas railroad commissioner is a powerful position that regulates the state’s huge oil and gas industry.

Cornyn ruled out voting for French after Republican strategist Karl Rove, who was former President George W. Bush’s top political adviser, said he would vote for Rosenthal over French after the Republican candidate posted his widely criticized social commentary.

“This November, I’ll vote for only the second Democrat in my life. The first was Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock in 1994, because I thought he would work with Republicans,” Rove wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.

“The second will be Mr. French’s opponent, Jon Rosenthal. The GOP’s stables need a cleaning. This is a good place to start,” he wrote.

Other Texas Republicans have criticized French’s post.

Texas state Rep. Lacey Hull (R) implored French to delete it.

“This post breaks my heart. I see college kids cheering on their football team. I see Texans,” she wrote on social platform X .