Bo French Claims Patrick Support in Call
Despite Lt. Gov's Accusations of Bigotry
Capitol Inside
June 2, 2026
After being accused by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick of anti-semitism and bigotry during the current election cycle, Bo French announced on Tuesday that the Texas Senate president will be supporting his campaign this fall as the Republican nominee for railroad commissioner.
Patrick reportedly ended five days of silence on French's ousting of Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright in the primary runoff election a week ago when he assured the former Tarrant County GOP chairman in a telephone chat on Monday night that he'd be backing his bid for the statewide post.
"Last night I had a very nice call with @DanPatrick and I am very happy to have his support," French said in a post on X. "The takeaway is that Republicans are unified and working together to defeat the slate of radicals the Democrats have offered up."
At a time when the Democrats' U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico is pounding Republicans relentlessly for pandering to billionaire donors, Patrick would have given added ammunition if he'd spoken with French on the phone while he was still in Italy as a guest of Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta - the U.S. ambassador there. Patrick could argue that Fertitta's vast wealth is irrelevant in light of the fact that the powerful Texas politician's daughter works for him at the embassy there.
But Patrick hadn't confirmed the conversation that French described by Tuesday afternoon. While French did not use the word endorsement in the social media post on the Patrick call, he implied that he'd have it in the post on GOP unity for the general election in 2026. All of the other Republican nominees for non-judicial statewide offices rallied behind French last week after he emerged with the RRC nomination with 50.7 percent of the vote.
Governor Greg Abbott and Patrick supported Wright for re-election amid warnings on the potential disaster that French could be for the GOP ticket in November as a lightning rod in a race that wouldn't have been on anyone's radar if the incumbent had prevailed last week in overtime. Abbott told Republican voters during the final days before the runoff that French didn't know anything about oil and gas, which he would be charged with regulating if elected this fall.
But Abbott and Patrick found themselves in a position of having to decide whether to put politics over their principles and convictions for a midterm election when they both are up for re-election on a statewide ticket with highly-controversial attorney general Ken Paxton and French as the bookends for the statewide slate.
U.S. Senator John Cornyn refused on Monday to take back terrible things he and the Republican U.S. Senate leaders in Washington D.C. said about Paxton before the AG unseated him last week in the U.S. Senate runoff here with 64 percent of the vote. But Cornyn - unlike Abbott and Patrick - has nothing more to lose but pride at this point after the runoff drubbing by a challenger who the veteran solon portrayed as crooked, sleasy and immoral.
Patrick fiercely condemned French last summer after he asked in a social media poll whether Jewish people or those who are Islam represent the greatest threats to the United States. Patrick demanded that French resign the post he held at the time as the GOP county leader.
But Patrick also had sounded the loudest call for unity among Republicans after the ballots were cast in the U.S. Senate runoff. While Abbott endorsed French immediately after the overtime vote despite the portrayal of him as woefully unqualified several days before, Patrick found himself in an even bigger pinch after warning this spring that the GOP could lose its majority in the Texas House without a united front for the fall.
more to come ...
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