Rosenthal defeats French in Texas railroad commissioner race, CBS News projects

Democrat Jon Rosenthal has won the race for Texas railroad commissioner, CBS News projects, defeating Republican Bo French in a campaign overshadowed by French's comments about immigrants, Muslims and Jews. With roughly 93% of ballots counted, Rosenthal held 52.5% of the vote, compared with 45.6% for French.

The result marks a Democratic victory for an office the party last won in 1990. Rosenthal, a Houston state representative, is a former oil field engineer with 25 years of experience in the industry. French, originally from Midland, previously served as chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party.

Despite its name, the railroad commission oversees Texas' oil and gas industry rather than its railroads. The industry under its regulation produces more than 40% of the nation's crude oil. Rosenthal won a seat on a commission with three members in total. The other two commissioners are Republicans.

The candidates differed on oil and gas policy, but French's public statements became the central issue in the contest. He declined to reconsider racist, anti-Muslim and antisemitic remarks during a campaign that unfolded in what was already shaping up as a difficult election year for Texas Republicans.

Opposition to French also came from prominent members of his own party. Many leading elected Republicans in Texas rallied against his candidacy before the May runoff, although he ultimately secured the nomination. His comments continued to draw attention after that victory, including a September social media post about University of Texas students.

That post attracted national headlines after French described students who appeared to be of South Asian descent as a problem. In a separate post using the same photograph, he claimed social media was revealing that foreigners had displaced Americans. Several of the students subsequently identified themselves publicly as American citizens.

Soon after the posts, Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he would not vote for French. Cornyn had earlier lost his primary to Ken Paxton. Other Texas Republicans, including Karl Rove, also withheld their support. Nevertheless, French raised more than $700,000 after the student post, while Rosenthal collected more than $500,000 over the same period.

French had posted antisemitic and anti-Muslim comments before winning the primary as well. His campaign platform called for eliminating DEI policies, stopping what he described as an Islamic invasion of Texas, and supporting life and the nuclear family.