WASHINGTON – On Sept. 15, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), Ami Bera (D-Sacramento), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ro Khanna (D-Santa Clara), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) issued a joint statement condemning a post by Texas Republican Bo French that included a photo of South Asian students celebrating at a University of Texas football game:
“We are outraged by the blatantly xenophobic social media post made by Bo French, Republican candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission, attacking students celebrating at the University of Texas football game. These were young students in a moment of joy and celebration.
“This is a part of a broader rise of attacks made towards the South Asian American community. In fact, 71% of all anti-Asian threats of violence between August 2024 and December 2025 were directed at South Asians, making them the most targeted Asian regional subgroup in online spaces associated with targeted violence.
“Hateful and racist attacks like this have no place online, or in our communities. We must continue to speak out against this sort of rhetoric, and we must demand better of candidates and elected officials. No one’s Americanness should be judged based on the color of their skin.”
The photo was accompanied by this message: “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
In a separate post, French said, “I cheered the win for the team. It was a great game. But I weep for the families in Texas who can’t get into UT because they prioritize foreigners over Texans. Shame on you for ignoring that fact.”
A fellow Texas Republican, Sen. John Cornyn, tweeted, “This is the Republican nominee for statewide office. Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized. This is how great political parties selfdestruct. Sad.”
Calling French a “bigot” in an interview with The Texas Tribune, Republican political consultant Karl Rove, former senior advisor to President George W. Bush, said he plans to vote for French’s Democratic opponent.