Rosenthal Wins Texas Railroad Commissioner Seat With 52.5 Percent of Vote

Jon Rosenthal has secured the Texas railroad commissioner seat with 52.5 percent of the vote, CBS News projects. His opponent, Bo French, received 45.6 percent of the total. The count covers roughly 93 percent of all ballots cast in the race.

The election concludes a long campaign marked by controversy. French, a Republican from Midland, previously chaired the Tarrant County Republican Party. He faced opposition from prominent figures within his own party before the May runoff. Despite this resistance, he secured the nomination. His public statements regarding immigrants, Muslims, and Jews remained the central focus of the contest. In a September social media post, French described University of Texas students who appeared to be of South Asian descent as a problem. He later claimed in a separate post that foreigners had displaced Americans. Several of the students identified themselves publicly as American citizens following the posts. Senator John Cornyn, who had lost his primary to Ken Paxton, announced he would not vote for French. Karl Rove also withheld his support. French raised more than $700,000 after the student post. Rosenthal collected more than $500,000 over the same period. French's platform called for eliminating DEI policies, stopping an Islamic invasion of Texas, and supporting life and the nuclear family.

Rosenthal represents a shift in the office. The Democratic Party last held this position in 1990. He is a Houston state representative and a former oil field engineer with 25 years of industry experience. The commission consists of three members. The other two seats are currently held by Republicans. Despite the title, the agency oversees the state's oil and gas sector rather than its railroads. The industry produces more than 40 percent of the nation's crude oil.

The next step involves the formal certification of the results. Rosenthal will join the commission alongside the two sitting Republican members. The board will continue to regulate energy production in Texas.