TEXAS — Bo French declared victory over Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright in the GOP primary runoff on May 26, 2026. French declared victory before midnight with a lead of less than 2 percentage points. The race was one of the closest contests of the night, with French leading among early voters and Wright narrowing the gap as Election Day votes were counted.

French, a former Tarrant County GOP chairman, is now poised to face Democrat state Representative Jon Rosenthal in the November 2026 general election. "I am deeply grateful for the support of TX Republicans across our state. Our campaign focused on defending oil and gas, and putting America First—and that’s exactly what I will continue fighting for as we turn our attention to radical Democrat Jon Rosenthal."

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows endorsed Wright over French. Patrick previously called on French to resign from his Tarrant County chairmanship after French posted a social media poll asking whether Jews or Muslims were a bigger threat to America.

During the campaign, French accused Wright of allowing “Sharia law” within the Railroad Commission and nicknamed him “Jihadi Jim.” He also claimed the Railroad Commission and Wright had allowed China and Islam to overtake Texas oil fields. Earlier in 2026, French called on his party to more openly embrace Islamophobia. He has posted offensive social media content using slurs to refer to people with mental disabilities and LGBTQ+ individuals and said the U.S. should deport 100 million people—nearly a third of the country’s population.

The Texas Freedom Fund for the Advancement of Justice, funded by oil tycoons Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, spent about $1 million on French’s campaign, accounting for more than 60% of his total funding. Big oil companies and trade groups contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Wright’s campaign. Combined, the two Republican candidates raised more than $3 million since February 2026.

If elected in November, French will join the three-commissioner panel of the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the state’s oil and gas industry. Texas produced nearly half of all U.S. oil in 2025. The Railroad Commission will oversee a $593 million budget in 2026—the highest in years—as the industry contends with volatile oil prices, widespread layoffs, and growing concerns about wastewater management.