One week after top Republican officials called for Bo French’s resignation as chair of the Tarrant County GOP, there are few signs of any change coming to the party’s leadership. 

Three Republican Tarrant precinct chairs told the Fort Worth Report they consider it unlikely that French, who has said he will not resign, would be forcibly removed from his position. 

Sheena Rodriguez wrote a letter in October to her fellow Republican precinct chairs calling for French’s removal — an effort that was ultimately unsuccessful. 

Eight months later, on June 27, Republican officials across the state — including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, U.S. Sen John Cornyn, Rep. Giovanni Capriglione of Southlake, Rep. Craig Goldman of Fort Worth, Texas Sen. Phil King of Weatherford, Texas Sen. Tan Parker of Flower Mound, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez — echoed the sentiment of Rodriguez’s letter by calling for French’s resignation over “bigotry” against Jewish and Muslim people. 

Although she’s grateful elected officials spoke out against French, Rodriguez said July 3 that she lacks the internal support to drive French out of her party. 

“There’s not a whole lot of support from other level-headed precinct chairs that are willing to do the right thing,” Rodriguez said. “Many of them just don’t see French as a problem. So I don’t know if the support is there from the precinct chair level to actually act upon that.”

Counties are divided into voting precincts, which are represented by a precinct chair elected as a Democrat or Republican. Precinct chairs are volunteers who work on the grassroots level to mobilize voters within their parties. Along with the chair, they are voting members of their party’s county executive committee, which acts as its governing body. 

How to remove a party chair

The same night that Patrick and other officials demanded French step down, the chairman posted on X that he will not resign and remains focused on “continuing to make Tarrant County even more Republican.” French, who has served as chair since October 2023, did not return a request for comment. 

French wrote on X Friday night that he disagrees with Patrick’s “assessment of the situation.” Patrick and other officials criticized French for a poll he posted on X asking whether Jewish or Muslim people pose a “bigger threat to America.” French has since deleted the poll and said he regrets posting it. 

To successfully push French out of his seat, officials would have to convince leaders of the Tarrant County or Texas Republican parties to oust him. A spokesperson for Parker declined to comment because the mayor is on vacation, and a spokesperson for Patrick did not return a request for comment. 

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, left, looks at a presentation next to City Attorney Leann Guzman during a City Council workshop April 1, 2025, at City Hall. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)

The Republican Party of Texas’ general rules, as of 2024, state that a party’s county executive committee must take a majority vote of the committee’s full body to initiate removal of their party’s chair. If the committee reaches a majority vote that their chair has “failed to perform his or her duties or is no longer eligible for office,” members must then send a resolution and supporting documentation to the state party’s executive committee. 

At that point, the Republican Party of Texas’ executive committee may begin an “official review for remedy,” according to the party’s general rules. The chair in question must be notified at least seven days before any meeting concerning their removal, and they must be offered the opportunity to present their defense before a committee vote is taken. 

Mark Hand, a political science professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, said he interpreted the state party’s rules to mean that the state’s executive committee could also force French out by a majority vote, if they were so inclined. Republican Party of Texas leadership did not return a request for comment on whether they would support or pursue French’s removal. 

Hand said in a statement that the country has moved into “a new era of national politics,” in which controversies that could have brought down a politician in the 1990s and into the early 2010s no longer register with “polarized primary voters, who know more about national politics, and less about local politics and local politicians, than they used to.” However, the Republican Party’s internal fighting could impact French’s position, he added. 

“If Bo French has made enough powerful enemies within the party, they could use something like this as an excuse to kick him out,” Hand said. 

Supporters stand by party chair through controversy

Republican Tarrant precinct chair Marshall Hobbs, who unsuccessfully campaigned for a Fort Worth City Council seat in the May election, said he believes Patrick’s and Parker’s social media posts about French were an attempt to drive confusion and division within the Republican Party. 

He said they were “irresponsible for making public statements to make our party seem to be disunified.” He maintains that the party’s members are united.

Hobbs said he’s waiting until the Tarrant GOP’s next county executive meeting to form an opinion on French’s situation but, regardless, he remains committed to his values and mission as a precinct chair. 

“As an African American man that is conservative, that believes in conservative values, my focus as a precinct chair is to unify the party, focus on grassroots campaigning in order to let people know that we are about trying to make sure that our taxes are low and that we don’t have any regulation, and you can live your life the way you want to live your life,” Hobbs said. 

Carlos Turcios, a Republican precinct chair who serves as chair of the Tarrant GOP’s community involvement committee, said he fully supports French and rejects “the smear campaign being waged against him.” Turcios is a writer for the conservative website The Dallas Express and previously served as director of the political activist group Texas Latinos United for Conservative Action. 

Carlos Turcios, then-director of Texas Latinos United for Conservative Action and writer for the conservative website The Dallas Express, pictured Oct. 24, 2024, at Mayor Mattie Parker’s State of the City address at Dickies Arena. (Cecilia Lenzen | Fort Worth Report)

Turcios said Republicans should stand behind leaders like French, who he believes has “delivered real results for the Tarrant County Republican Party, raising money, energizing the grassroots and helping deliver the county for President Trump.” He said French’s poll that garnered the backlash was a “reflection of legitimate concerns about the rise of radical Islam.” 

“It is a disservice to the movement when some Republicans focus more on a tweet than on the real issues facing our nation, such as open borders, DEI indoctrination, and attacks on our faith and freedoms,” Turcios said in a statement. 

He believes the majority of precinct chairs and local activists stand behind French. 

Julie McCarty, CEO of the Tarrant-based political activist group True Texas Project, said the backlash over French’s poll is “ridiculous and completely fabricated.” Last summer, her group garnered scrutiny over its 15th anniversary celebration hosted at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and featuring panels on “Multiculturalism & the War on White America” and “The Case for Christian Nationalism.” 

McCarty said French should not have apologized or removed the post, and doing so made it look as if he was admitting guilt. 

“But I’ll give him a pass on that since I know how hard it is to determine the right move under extreme pressure,” she said in a statement. “(French’s) post was not racist or bigoted. To call it that, as (Patrick) did, requires twisting words, being completely unaware of current events and taking things out of context.” 

McCarty said Patrick orchestrated “his minions,” which included the mayor, state senators and Fort Worth’s congressman, to pile on in calling French out online. She said she and other grassroots organizers aren’t falling for it. 

“I have no worry about (French) being removed from office. I’ve not heard one activist say he should be,” McCarty said. “Tarrant County loves him, and he’s ours to deal with. (Patrick) needs to stay out of our business.” 

What comes next? 

Rodriguez, the precinct chair who previously called for French’s removal, said she believes too many of Tarrant’s Republican precinct chairs are “cut from the same cloth” as French and won’t support or push for his removal. 

She said she has continuously attempted to sway fellow precinct chairs and organize to force French out, but has faced backlash and ostracization within the party as a result. 

Rodriguez and a few like-minded precinct chairs approached French directly before the November 2024 election to express concerns about his inflammatory rhetoric. She recalled feeling “astonished” at French’s dismissive response to their conversation, which she said was along the lines of, “Well, but I live in one of the most affluential areas in Tarrant County.” 

“He does not live in the real world,” Rodriguez said. 

Bo French, left, speaks at a forum for Tarrant County GOP chair candidates hosted by the Tarrant County Republican Assembly in 2023. (Haley Samsel | Fort Worth Report)

Allison Campolo, who served as chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party from 2021 to 2023, said French “absolutely should not be in elected office at any level,” but she’s not feeling optimistic about the chance of his removal. Campolo is currently campaigning to return as the Democratic party chair after Crystal Gayden announced her resignation last month. 

“I do not see enough (Tarrant County GOP) precinct chairs demanding his resignation or organizing to remove him from office, and all elected and local Republicans seem to only be upset with his antisemitic tweet and not also with his long history of hateful comments in general,” Campolo said in a statement. “I genuinely hope he resigns, but it seems unlikely.”

Although French’s future as chair remains unclear, Rodriguez said, she worries about the future of the local Republican Party. As the 2026 primary election approaches, she fears that divisive rhetoric will make Republicans continue to lose ground in the nation’s largest red county — and that French will be at least partly responsible.

If French is successful in holding on to his seat, Rodriguez said, she hopes the public callout from prominent Texas Republicans will help make voters aware of his viewpoints. 

Hobbs said he would like to speak directly with French about the controversy, but he’s not sure if the topic will be discussed at the next county executive committee meeting. 

The Tarrant County GOP’s next executive committee meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. July 12 at the party’s new headquarters at 201 N. Rupert St., Suite 117, in Fort Worth. The meetings are open to the public, until or unless members call an executive session. 

Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org. 

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