Bo French, the Republican candidate for railroad commissioner who has been under fire for making racist social media posts about University of Texas students, will face off against Democrat nominee Jon Rosenthal in a debate next month ahead, Rosenthal said Friday.
The two candidates are seeking one of three seats on the Railroad Commission of Texas — which oversees a constellation of energy infrastructure across the state, including gas and oil. The agency does not actually oversee railroads.
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Rosenthal, a state representative from Cypress, posted on social media that he and French have agreed to a debate at 5 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the Dallas Press Club, which will be live streamed.
“If you can see this, Bo — I’m still ready, — any time, any place — any moderator,” Rosenthal wrote in a statement on his X account.
Rosenthal’s campaign manager, Fawaz Anwar, said the debate will be at the studio of Jeff Crilley at 5400 LBJ Freeway, Suite 800, in Dallas.
French has not publicly confirmed his participation. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The debate appears to be the first to be announced between any two statewide candidates this election cycle, as Democrats at the top of the ticket are pressuring their counterparts to participate.
French came under fire by fellow Republicans earlier this month for sharing a post on X showing a photo of the student section cheering a Texas Longhorn victory against Ohio State, referring to the students as “foreigners” who displaced Americans, without having any information about their status. French has stood by his remark since but has also started speaking publicly about his potential policies on gas and energy. French last week also deleted several old posts making other offensive statements.
French is a high-ranking Republican operative who last served as chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party and who has made culture wars the centerpiece of his campaign — such as questioning whether Jewish people or Muslims posed a bigger threat to the United States. In March, French said the U.S. should deport 100 million people — roughly a third of the country’s population.
French has pledged to end Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, funding and practices at the Texas Railroad Commission and has called to end Chinese government influence in the oil industry.
Rosenthal, is a career oil field engineer and four-term House member, who has said that if he wins he would like to hire community liaisons for the Texas Railroad Commission in every region, and expand language access to include Spanish and Vietnamese, among others. He has also said that he will work for affordable gas rates by scrutinizing utility companies.