Breckenridge Texan

Is Bo French now the face of the Republican Party? 

Editor’s Note: This column originally appeared in The Dallas Morning News, where Glenn Rogers is a contributing columnist.

By Glenn Rogers

On Sept. 12, the Texas Longhorns achieved an historic come-from-behind victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. For me and many other Aggies, the victory by our archrival was bittersweet: Yea for the state of Texas! But now we have to hear the “teasips” crow. 

Football rivalries, especially long, deep-rooted ones like the Aggies and Longhorns, elicit tribal emotions and year-round trash talk. It is mostly fun and games, even laced with a trace of mutual respect. 

But something troubling happened after this game that reveals the rot inside Texas politics. On the day after the game, Bo French, a candidate for Texas Railroad Commission, shared an image depicting UT students, most of whom appeared to be of South Asian descent, enthusiastically celebrating the dramatic win. He commented, “Like body-cams exposed criminals, social media is exposing how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners. It’s everywhere and far worse than any of us could imagine.”

French has consistently asserted his belief in the Great Replacement Theory. This is a common neo-Nazi conspiracy theory, embraced by the fringe far right. Followers of this idea believe there is an intentional and ongoing effort to replace the white population through mass immigration. The perpetrators are believed to be Democrats, Jews or some other nefarious and secretive group.

Unlike copious, vicious and hate-filled racist comments from French, this latest rant did not entirely slide by as merely “Bo being Bo.” Several elected officials, including Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows, requested the post be deleted. Simply deleting the post seems like less than a hand-slap response to me, but at least it demonstrated some disagreement with the statement, unlike the silent approach demonstrated by most Republican politicians. A few Republicans, including long-time political strategist Karl Rove, have indicated they will now vote for French’s opponent, Democrat Jon Rosenthal.

What’s concerning is how many influential groups voiced support for French’s swill. After seeing social media responses condemning French’s post, Julie McCarty, president and executive director of the True Texas Project, wrote on X: “Actually I’d shake Bo’s hand and write him a check.” She followed that by calling everyone critical of French’s statements “has-beens” who “are no longer relevant.” She then suggested that “those who are still in office will be has-beens soon enough. Read the room!” Another post referred to French as a “rock star.”

Demonstrating that the seeds of hate have already been sown in younger minds, the Fort Worth Young Republicans posted on X that, “It’s not ‘anti-Indian racism’ to say that Heritage Americans deserve not to be replaced in their own home. UT should be serving Texas, not the entire world.” Their president, Jake Lloyd Colglazier, wrote that French’s “perfectly reasonable post demonstrates the deleterious effect of mass immigration on our democratic system.”

Note here that the replacement rhetoric isn’t about law and order. Long gone are the Republican talking points like, “America is welcoming to all; we just want them to come in legally.” Every student in the image French shared might have been born in this country. Legal status is not what concerns French or McCarty or Colglazier. This isn’t about immigration or citizenship; it’s just about skin color. “Heritage Americans” is code for “white.” 

On Monday morning, I tuned in to the Mark Davis show on WBAP to hear a short interview with French. As expected, he was unrepentant and doubled down in perfect Trumpian fashion. 

This was my first time to listen to a French interview and I was impressed with how calmly he articulated his hateful message. One of his more profound quotes was that “ANY Republican is better than a Democrat.” Over the last several weeks I have repeatedly heard this statement verbally and read it on social media as justification for supporting seriously flawed Republican candidates.

While we could focus an entire book on the overt xenophobia exhibited by French, True Texas Project and other groups and individuals of the fringe far right, a more productive effort could focus on the GOP enablers and elected officials who either remain silent or, in the case of Gov. Greg Abbott, provide only lukewarm and politically safe responses.

There are understandable political reasons for the lack of moral courage exhibited by many Republican lawmakers and wannabes. In our megadonor-controlled, caustic political environment, fear of a well-funded primary opponent, full of unwarranted character assassination and outright lies, is a valid concern. In my three campaigns for state representative, I was advised on several occasions by my consultant to “keep my head down” and let controversial issues pass.

Bo French appears to be a lost cause. However, a better understanding of funding sources and the organizations and individuals directly or indirectly supporting this behavior is in order to right the ship. French has received about 70% of his campaign contributions from Tim Dunn. A simple internet search provides useful information such as who attended French’s campaign announcement as a special guest, who has contributed to his campaign, who has contributed money to True Texas Project and who True Texas Project has endorsed. This is work the party should be doing. Republicans have to cut bad actors from the herd or risk the contagion decimating the whole party.

Unfortunately, party leadership has shown no interest in that, and tolerance for racist ideas starts at the top. In December 2023 during his presidential campaign, Donald Trump said immigrants coming to the U.S. are “poisoning the blood of our country.” In Adolph Hitler’s opus, Mein Kampf, the term “blood poisoning” was used when criticizing immigration and the mixing of races. “All great cultures of the past perished only because the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning,” Hitler wrote.

The cruel comments directed at non-white University of Texas students, who were simply enjoying a football game, were imbued with unconscionable hate. Those who stand with French or who refuse to denounce his rhetoric are complicit.

Thankfully, the God I worship sees straight through skin, regardless of color or scars, and gazes directly on our hearts.

Glenn Rogers is a rancher and veterinarian in Palo Pinto County. He served in the Texas House of Representatives from 2021 to 2025, representing Stephens County. He is a Dallas Morning News contributing columnist.