AUSTIN (Diya TV) — Republican strategist Karl Rove said Monday that he plans to vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal in the Texas Railroad Commission race after Republican nominee Bo French posted comments about South Asian students at the University of Texas at Austin.

Rove, a former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, made the remarks during a members-only lunch at the Headliners Club in Austin. Three attendees told The Texas Tribune that Rove called French a “bigot.”

Rove said the only Democratic candidate he had previously supported was former Texas Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock in 1994. Neither Rove nor French immediately responded to the Tribune’s requests for comment.

French drew criticism Sunday after sharing a photo of South Asian students celebrating a Texas Longhorns football victory over Ohio State. He referred to the students as “foreigners” and said they were displacing Americans, without providing information about their citizenship or immigration status.

One student pictured in the post told The Texas Tribune he is a naturalized U.S. citizen. UT Austin later issued a statement supporting the students pictured at the game without directly naming French.

French defended his comments Monday on the Mark Davis Show and described Republican officials who criticized him as “less-conservative people.” Several Republicans, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and state lawmakers, publicly criticized the posts.

Rove, who teaches graduate students at UT Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, also praised a South Asian student he has taught and commended Republicans who criticized French, according to attendees at the lunch.

French has faced previous criticism from Texas Republicans. In 2025, while serving as Tarrant County Republican Party chair, he posted a social media poll asking whether Jews or Muslims posed a greater threat to the United States. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick later called on French to resign from the party position.

French defeated incumbent Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright in the Republican primary and faces Rosenthal, a Houston Democrat and former oil field engineer, in the November election. The three-member Texas Railroad Commission regulates the state’s oil and gas industry.

President Donald Trump responded to Rove’s comments Monday on Truth Social, criticizing the longtime Republican strategist.