Rosenthal defeats French in Texas Railroad Commission race
The gist
Democratic state representative Jon Rosenthal defeated Republican Bo French in the Texas Railroad Commission race.
The win ends three decades of GOP control of the oil and gas agency.
How it unfolded
- May 27, 2026Bo French narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Jim Wright in the GOP primary runoff for the Texas Railroad Commission.
- Sep 2026French faced backlash over a social media post depicting students of color at a University of Texas football game, which he characterized as evidence that "foreigners" were displacing Americans at Texas universities.
- Nov 3, 2026Rosenthal claimed victory in a social media post shortly after 10 p.m.; unofficial early results put him ahead with just over 51 percent of the vote by 11 p.m. with all but 20 counties reporting, per the Texas Secretary of State.