In an attempt to unify the Texas Republican ticket, House Speaker Dustin Burrows kicked off a coordinated effort called the “One Party, One Mission” tour.
In this tour, the House Speaker went to various parts of the state to hold fundraising efforts along with other support events for Texas House candidates and other statewide Republicans.
The priority is clear as reported by conservative media: November victories.
“We must stand as one party fiercely dedicated to a singular mission—winning in November,” the House Speaker told rally attendees in the Dallas suburb of Sherman.
The House Speaker was busy throughout the summer crisscrossing the state from Lubbock to Houston, Sherman to the RGV with one message to all attendees: vote Republican.
The central
idea was for him to heal wounds from the 2023 House impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton and the bruising primary for the Republican nod between sitting U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Paxton.
It is a good idea to do that and House Speaker Burrows has led the charge for Republican unity and for its supporters to coalesce around every GOP candidate – up and down the ballot.
What makes this unique is the House Speaker is leading this effort. Past House Speakers have not campaigned this aggressively solely for Republican candidates.
While he has his own ambitions behind it – securing a second term as House Speaker because he no longer needs House Democrats’ support – the fact that it is him may suggest Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have little interest in leading a unity campaign.
Be that as it may, we cannot forget House Speaker Burrows is an astute politician. He could sense there would be dissension among Republicans over the Senate primary race as Paxton is problematic at best given his controversies. Let alone the fact that he was among the 121 members of the House who impeached him in 2023, so for him to lead the call for unity makes for a great headline. But something happened last week the entire GOP ticket feared: one of their statewide candidates was too candid on social media.
GOP candidate for Railroad Commissioner and former Tarrant County Republican Party Chair Bo French let loose his feelings toward people who do not look like him on the social media platform X – formerly Twitter. The post read: “Like body-cams exposed criminals, social media is exposing how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners. It’s everywhere and far worse than any of us could imagine.” Those words are read above a picture of apparent University of Texas students – who happen to be non-white – celebrating the Longhorns’ historic comeback victory against Ohio State.
While this appears to be an isolated incident, Mr. French has a long history of making prejudiced, sexist, and nativist posts on social media. If one spent five minutes reading his X page, such a conclusion would be easy to reach. But the aforementioned post from French’s account found condemnation across the board of Texas’ Republican leaders. From outgoing senior Senator John Cornyn and House Speaker Burrows to House Chairs and rank-and-file members of the legislature and candidates, French was scorched with scorn.
But French was still French. He did not apologize for the atrocious and repugnant prejudiced post. Oh no, he doubled down on it. He told conservative radio that it was people who were against him who condemned his post. He said, “Many of the people who criticized me yesterday were some of the same people involved in that effort. It’s no surprise that the less-conservative people in Texas are the ones attacking me.”
“Less conservative?” Just about every Republican is less conservative than French – with the exception of the most extreme fringe voices.
All of this is a distraction from French’s ignorance on the actual role of the Railroad Commission. The times he mentioned oil and natural gas regulation pale in comparison to how many times he has disparaged someone’s faith, color, creed, ethnicity, sex, and race. He truly wants to bring the worst of people’s character out to vote for him.
This is where one must question Speaker Burrows’ “One Party, One Mission” campaign. With someone unqualified to do the job as Bo French carrying the Republican mantle for a statewide office, does he fit within the Speaker’s unity message? Will those who condemned his social media post vote for him? If they do, then their condemnation holds no water.
For the average West Texan looking at this race, if you cannot bring yourself to vote for the Democratic candidate for Railroad Commissioner who is State Representative Jon Rosenthal, then consider not voting in that race. Simply skip it. This would harm French’s candidacy because an undervote from Republicans’ core constituents sends a message that West Texans are not buying into French’s mirage of a campaign.
French thinks he will win this election because he is a Republican. When in reality, French has no business being on the ballot to represent any major political party. He represents the worst of us and should be kicked out of the Speaker’s “One Party, One Mission” campaign. No Republican worth their salt should stand beside Bo French.
Drew Landry is an associate professor of government at South Plains College. His views do not necessarily represent those of SPC.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Drew Landry: One Party, One Mission? The French Connection in Texas
