AUSTIN (Diya TV) — Republican strategist Karl Rove said he will vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal instead of Republican Bo French in the 2026 Texas Railroad Commission race, according to The Texas Tribune.

Rove announced his decision during a private lunch at the Headliners Club in Austin, according to three attendees who spoke anonymously because the event was not public. They said Rove called French a “bigot” and praised Republicans who condemned his recent social media posts.

Rove served as a senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush. He told attendees he had previously voted for only one Democrat: former Texas Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock in 1994.

French drew bipartisan criticism after sharing a photo of South Asian students celebrating the University of Texas at Austin football team’s victory over Ohio State. He referred to the students as “foreigners” displacing Americans, although the image provided no information about their citizenship, immigration status or residency.

UT data contradicts French’s broader claims about international enrollment. International students account for 4.3% of the university’s undergraduate population, while more than 80% of all students are Texas residents. State law generally requires Texas residents to make up at least 90% of each incoming undergraduate class.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows were among the party leaders who criticized French’s remarks. French defended his comments and described the Republicans who opposed them as “less conservative.”

President Donald Trump later criticized Rove on Truth Social, calling him bad for the Republican Party and frequently wrong. Rove and French did not immediately respond to The Texas Tribune’s requests for comment.

French defeated incumbent Commissioner Jim Wright to secure the Republican nomination. Rosenthal, a Democratic state representative from Houston and former oil field mechanical engineer, won his party’s nomination.

The Railroad Commission regulates Texas’ oil and gas industry, intrastate pipelines, natural gas utilities and abandoned wells. Despite its name, the agency has not regulated railroads since 2005.

French has emphasized immigration and other national political issues during his campaign, although the commission has no authority over those matters. Rosenthal has focused on oil and gas regulation, pipeline safety and abandoned wells.