Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) issued a stark warning to his own party Tuesday as Republicans struggle with the fallout from Texas statewide candidate Bo French’s racist social media rant.
Asked by Washington Sun reporter Igor Bobic whether the GOP has a broader problem following French’s comments and reports of Republican staffers with Nazi ties, Cornyn said that behavior once considered politically disqualifying is now increasingly being tolerated.
“I think those are the death knell for a political party,” Cornyn said, pointing to “some of the anti-Semitism, some of the bigotry like Bo French’s comments, and some of the corruption.”
“I think too many people are tolerating conduct that in the past would have been disqualifying when it comes to politics,” he said.
Cornyn, who has represented Texas in the Senate since 2002 and previously served as the state’s attorney general, said political standards have “eroded.”
“A lot of things, like I said, that would not have been tolerated before” are becoming normalized, he added.
French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commission, ignited bipartisan backlash after posting an image of South Asian students celebrating a University of Texas football victory and suggesting Americans were being “displaced by foreigners.”
Cornyn said Republicans need to do a better job holding their own accountable.
“I just think we need to do a better job of self-policing,” he concluded.
I asked Cornyn if his party has a broader problem in wake of racist Bo French tweet and multiple GOP staffers’ Nazi ties. He said: pic.twitter.com/mf22cj68xk
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) September 15, 2026