Bo French, a candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission, witnessed a significant drop in his electoral prospects on a major U.S. betting market. This shift followed a social media post that many condemned as racist. The post also caused uproar among Republican lawmakers.
French, a Republican nominee known for his ‘MAGA conservative’ stance, shared a photo on his X account. The image showed students of Asian descent celebrating the University of Texas’ football victory over Ohio State. He captioned it with: ‘I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.’
The post reached 27 million views and faced widespread criticism. Senator John Cornyn responded on X, questioning whether other Republican officials would condemn the displayed intolerance and racism or ignore it as it becomes normal.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott addressed the issue, telling Politico: ‘That is not my message. A selective picture of Longhorn fans celebrating our biggest home victory actually shows a way that Texans unite. We all support our college football teams.’
By early Monday, French’s chances on the prediction market Kalshi fell by 10 percent, from 72 percent on Sunday morning.
Newsweek reached out to the French campaign, the University of Texas, and the White House for comments outside of regular hours via email.
This story is developing. More updates will be provided as information becomes available.
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