<p class="wp-block-paragraph">GOP consultant and former Bush adviser Karl Rove explained his decision to vote for the Democrat running against Bo French, the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, marking the second time he has voted for a Democrat.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rove had previously called French a “bigot” for posting a picture of seemingly Asian American and Hispanic students celebrating at the University of Texas at Austin’s football stadium during a recent game. French commented that he had “heard UT graduation this year looked like this,” and suggested that “the problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rove expressed his views in an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, stating that French represents a growing number of “bigoted advocates of ‘Heritage America.'”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“These people are diminishing the Republican Party, not building it,” Rove said. “I’ll have no part of it. This November, I’ll vote for only the second Democrat in my life. The first was Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock in 1994, because I thought he would work with Republicans. The second will be Mr. French’s opponent, Jon Rosenthal. The GOP’s stables need a cleaning. This is a good place to start.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rove criticized French’s comments as examples of “raw, uncut bigotry” and noted that French has made controversial remarks about women and non-Christians. Rove mentioned that while serving as Tarrant County Republican chairman, French posted a poll on X asking if “Jews” or “Muslims” were a bigger threat to America, which drew criticism from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who called for French to resign.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rove recalled his move to Texas in the 1970s, stating, “The state was so blue that you could almost hold a GOP state convention in a phone booth.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Republicans turned Texas red by fielding candidates who understood the strength of our state’s diverse population and welcomed voters who shared our conservative values,” Rove added.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Following the backlash from French’s social media post, Rove discussed the matter with colleagues at a closed-door meeting, as reported by the Texas Tribune.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4725405/paxton-talarico-spar-racial-post-texas/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">PAXTON AND JAMES TALARICO SPAR OVER RACIALLY CHARGED POST ABOUT TEXAS COLLEGE STUDENTS </a></strong></p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">President Donald Trump later criticized Rove on Truth Social, labeling him a “Republican in name only.” Rove had appeared on Fox News prior to Trump’s comments, where he discussed the president’s plan to distribute $5,000 dividends to adult Americans if the GOP maintains its majority in Congress.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Karl Rove is so bad for the Republican Party, and completely wrong so often. He suffers from a major case of Trump Derangement Syndrome primarily because, for almost 10 years, I beat back and won against so many of the people and things that he wanted and espoused,” Trump stated. “Why does FoxNews and the WSJ keep his RINO Voice alive. The guy is a stone cold loser!”</p>