Texas Republican Bo French, the party's nominee for railroad commissioner, ignited a fresh controversy yesterday with social media posts targeting the demographic makeup of students at a University of Texas football game.

French shared a photo of what appeared to be predominantly South Asian students celebrating the Longhorns' victory over Ohio State on Saturday. He wrote that he had heard UT graduation this year looked similar and added that "the problem is obviously far worse than anyone imagined." In follow-up posts, he claimed social media was exposing how many Americans had been displaced by foreigners and accused universities of favoring non-citizens.

UT Austin has an automatic admissions policy for Texas students who rank among the top 5% of their high school graduating class. Since admission under that policy is based on academic standing rather than race or ethnicity, certain demographic groups like East Asians and Indians can make up a larger share of the students admitted through the program. The university says race and ethnicity are not factors in its admissions decisions.

Some prominent Texas Republicans quickly denounced the remarks. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called the comments intolerant and racist. Gov. Greg Abbott stated that the image instead showed Texans united in support of their team. Several state representatives, including Jared Patterson and Lacey Hull, also condemned the posts as racist and called for their removal.

French, a former Tarrant County GOP chair who won the Republican nomination in a May runoff against incumbent Jim Wright, has a history of controversial statements. He has previously advocated for mass deportations, expressed strong opposition to Islam, and posted content questioning whether Muslims or Jews posed a greater threat to America. He has also faced past criticism over business dealings related to the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.

On a conservative radio program today, French defended his position, attributing the backlash to establishment Republicans who opposed him in the primary. He argued that universities engage in discriminatory practices favoring foreigners and students of color over heritage Americans.

It's worth noting that Sen. Cornyn, who kicked off the opposition to French's post, was recently rejected by Texas voters. Cornyn lost to Ken Paxton in the recent Republican primary runoff election for U.S. Senate.

Response to French's post on X was mixed, with many commentators pointing out that Asian enrollment at UT has grown immensely in recent years. As of Monday afternoon, French's initial post had received more than 7,000 reposts and 35 million views. The surrounding controversy has been dubbed the "French and Indian War" by online commentators, a playful allusion to the real war of the same name from the eighteenth century.

The episode comes weeks before the November general election, where French faces Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal. The railroad commission regulates Texas oil and gas production, making the race significant for the state's energy sector despite its typically low profile. Prediction markets still favor French.

French has not deleted the posts and has continued to emphasize concerns over immigration, demographic shifts, and institutional priorities in subsequent statements.