Democrat wins Texas railroad commissioner race after Republican Bo French faced backlash over racist comments

Democrat Jon Rosenthal has won the Texas railroad commissioner race over Republican Bo French, NBC News and CBS News report, a result both tie to French's refusal to back away from racist, anti-Muslim and antisemitic remarks. The post oversees the state's oil and gas industry, and Rosenthal will sit alongside two Republican commissioners. CBS News says he led 52. 5% to 45. 6% with about 93% of votes counted.

Rosenthal is a Houston state representative and an engineer who spent 25 years in the oil field, according to CBS News; NBC News says he has held his House seat since 2019. He ran on cutting energy costs, safeguards around data centers, weatherization rules for gas production, and a ban on industry donations to commissioners, NBC News reports.

French, a former Tarrant County Republican chairman, drew fire in September for posting a photo of University of Texas students and suggesting foreigners had displaced Americans. CBS News adds that several of those students later said they were citizens, and that French still raised over $700,000 afterward, versus more than $500,000 for Rosenthal. Sen. John Cornyn and Karl Rove said they would not vote for French.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NBC News and CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at NBC News → Also at CBS News →