For Subscribers ‘I want public executions’: Texas GOP candidate’s extreme posts extend beyond racism

Bo French, the Republican nominee for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, is facing new scrutiny after a CNN KFile investigation found deleted social media posts in which he repeatedly called for public executions of political opponents, among them former President Barack Obama. The posts span about six years. They follow a viral post that called South Asian students at the University of Texas “foreigners” crowding out Americans, a stance he has not walked back, according to CNN · The Guardian.

The earliest examples came in May 2020, during Republican fury over the Russia inquiry into Trump's campaign. Using an account since suspended, which he also used in unsuccessful Texas statehouse runs in 2016 and 2018, French demanded death for what he called “Obama conspirators,” tagged posts #HangEmHigh, and suggested treason merits capital punishment even for a former president. He also urged that “treasonous bastards” face the full measure of justice when someone asked whether Adam Schiff had been arrested. In February 2025 he posted at least five times about gallows, hanging or public executions for officials he said DOGE had exposed. Another post sought the execution of Schiff, now a U.S. senator.

Karl Rove says he will vote for the Democrat, state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, and Sen. John Cornyn says he will not back French. Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have kept their endorsements; Abbott called the earlier post “not my message.” French dismissed critics as “less conservative” and did not answer CNN.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CNN · The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at CNN · The Guardian →