AUSTIN (Diya TV) — Bo French, the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, faces renewed scrutiny after CNN’s KFile reported that he called for the execution of political opponents in social media posts dating back to 2020.
In one May 2020 post, French called for the death penalty for people he described as “Obama conspirators,” according to KFile’s review. In another, he referred to death as a penalty for a former president while responding to a post about Barack Obama. KFile also found posts from 2025 in which French advocated public executions of government officials and political opponents. The posts are no longer available; KFile said it could not determine whether French deleted some of them himself. French did not respond to CNN’s inquiries, according to its report.
The findings follow criticism of a post French made this month about people pictured celebrating a University of Texas football victory. French suggested that the people in the image were foreigners displacing Americans, although the photograph provided no information about their citizenship or residency. Republicans and Democrats condemned the remarks. Former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove said he would vote for French’s Democratic opponent, state Rep. Jon Rosenthal. French stood by his comments about the photograph.
French defeated incumbent Commissioner Jim Wright in the Republican primary runoff in May. He now faces Rosenthal, a four-term state lawmaker and former oil field engineer, in November. French previously chaired the Tarrant County Republican Party.
The three-member Railroad Commission regulates Texas’ oil and natural gas industry, pipelines and natural gas utilities. Despite its name, it does not regulate railroads.
Rosenthal said Friday that both candidates had agreed to an Oct. 22 debate in Dallas. French had not publicly confirmed his participation as of that announcement
