Republican Texas Railroad Commission nominee Bo French's odds have fallen in Kalshi's election market following bipartisan criticism of his recent social media posts about University of Texas students.
French currently maintains his lead on the Texas Railroad Commissioner election market, but his price dropped from over 70% to 54%, while his Democratic opponent Jon Rosenthal’s price rose from 29% to 47%.
For informational purposes only. Not trading advice. See full disclaimer below.
Bo French’s post
French has faced criticism from Republicans and Democrats over an X post he made following Saturday's UT football game.
Politico reported that French posted a photo of some UT students in the crowd of the game with the comment, “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. … The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
“The Sunday morning comments, which appear to target South Asian students, sent Lone Star Republicans into a frenzy, worried about the impact the rhetoric could have on GOP candidates up and down the ballot, including Attorney General Ken Paxton’s high-profile Senate race and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection fight,” Politico wrote.
The Texas Tribune reported that longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove told attendees at a private Austin lunch that he plans to vote for Rosenthal and called French a “bigot.”
“Rove said he has only ever voted for one Democratic candidate, Texas Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, who was up for reelection in 1994,” The Texas Tribune wrote.
Sen. John Cornyn also condemned French's remarks and called on other Republican elected officials to speak out against what he described as “intolerance and racism.”
Despite the criticism, French has not backed away from his remarks and defended them in subsequent interviews and social media posts. Texas Public Radio reported that French said in a radio interview, “We’ve talked about this in terms of DEI. Well, that’s what DEI was. DEI was discriminating against deserving people, so that these liberal bureaucrat administrators at University of Texas and places like that could select their preferred groups of people. Well, that is what is racism.”
This isn't the first time French has faced criticism over his social media posts. The Texas Tribune reported that in 2024, when French was Tarrant County GOP chair, he made a series of social media posts “in which he repeatedly called his political opponents slurs for gay people and people with disabilities.”
Texas Governor election
Even though French’s remarks have led to criticism and defections in his own party, it doesn’t seem to have affected the Texas Governor’s race.
The market shows Governor Greg Abbott leading at 84%, and Democratic challenger Rep. Gina Hinojosa at 17%.
The takeaway:
Kalshi markets now predict:
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