Bo French Posts Spark Fundraising Surge
for Dem Who Raises More in 3-Month Span

Capitol Inside
October 6, 2026

Democrat Jon Rosenthal raised more campaign cash for a Texas Railroad Commission bid in the past three months than GOP foe Bo French - with the lion's share of a half-million dollar haul coming in September after the Republican popped off a series of social media posts that were branded as racist on both sides of the aisle.

Rosenthal - a state representative from Houston - reported more than $488,000 in cash from supporters during the period that he ended on September 24 with over $378,000 in reserve. French rounded up almost $440,000 during the same time span - closing the books on September with $530,000 in the campaign bank.

With a blue wave with tsunami potential on the horizon for the midterm election four weeks from today, Democrats raised more than enough money since the start of July to be competitive in the Texas statewide races after being shut out at that level here for more than 30 years.

Texas House Democrat Gina Hinojosa corralled more than $13 million in almost three months for a fight with Governor Greg Abbott, who raised $20 million in the same period of time in a bid for a record fourth term as the states top leader. Abbott pushed his total take for the 2026 election cycle close to $92 million for a contest for which Hinojosa has taken in $22 million since she launched the bid to unseat the longtime incumbent.

But beginning the year with $105 million in the campaign bank, Abbott was down to $17 million in the count of cash on hand for the battle's final month. The report that was due at the Texas Ethics Commission on Monday prompted speculation among Republicans on what the governor has received in return for an investment of $150 million in the race with a month to go before the vote.

The governor expected to win in a landslide with Hinojosa as the Democratic challenger in the battle - and he's been on a record-shatteing pace in terms of the amount of cash he's pumped into the effort. But Abbott's lead in the polling on the gubernatorial competition has all but evaporated - and Hinojosa was ahead of him in three of nine polls that were taken on the race here in the past month. After being listed as a 90 percent favorite in prediction market forecasts for months, the governor's probably of victory was down to 74 percent on Tuesday on both Kalshi and Polymarket.

The size of the individual candidates' war chests could be more irrelevant than ever in a wave election that's shaping up for election day on November 3. And Abbott could be in the early stages of trying to distance himself from President Donald Trump, who's been a massive drag on the Republicans in Texas and beyond getting big special interests to throw cash at the U.S. Senate race at its pinnacle this year.

After admitting that Trump had done more damage than good for a Senate bid with a midterm convention in Dallas a month ago, Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton is giving the nation's leader a mulligan on a rescue ride with plans to appear at a rally in San Antonio on Wednesday. But Abbott doesn't plan to attend the event in the Alamo City on the grounds that he had other plans that day.

Rosenthal in the meantime owes French a significant debt of gratitude for a rant on foreign students and illegal migrants at the University of Texas based on a photo that he post of Asian students at the Longhorns football game against Ohio State on September 12. French's odds in the RRC race have plummeted in the ensuing weeks - and Rosenthal was listed at a 55 percent favorite on Kalshi and given a 54 percent shot to win on Polymarket.

Some big name Texas Republicans like Karl Rove have vowed to vote for the Democrat in the race for railroad commissioner as a consequence of French's behavior. But most of the Republicans - including the governor - condemned racism in the wake of the French posts but refused to pull their support for him in the upcoming vote.

more to come ...