{"id":37259,"date":"2025-07-04T05:33:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T05:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/37259\/"},"modified":"2025-07-04T05:33:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T05:33:13","slug":"tarrant-gop-chair-bo-french-holds-firm-despite-calls-for-his-ouster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/37259\/","title":{"rendered":"Tarrant GOP chair Bo French holds firm despite calls for his ouster"},"content":{"rendered":"

One week after top Republican officials called for Bo French\u2019s resignation<\/a> as chair of the Tarrant County GOP, there are few signs of any change coming to the party\u2019s leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sheena Rodriguez wrote a letter in October to her fellow Republican precinct chairs calling for French\u2019s removal<\/a> \u2014 an effort that was ultimately unsuccessful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eight months later, on June 27, Republican officials across the state \u2014 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 \u2014 echoed the sentiment of Rodriguez\u2019s letter by calling for French\u2019s resignation over \u201cbigotry\u201d against Jewish and Muslim people<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although she\u2019s grateful elected officials spoke out against French, Rodriguez said July 3 that she lacks the internal support to drive French out of her party.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not a whole lot of support from other level-headed precinct chairs that are willing to do the right thing,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cMany of them just don\u2019t see French as a problem. So I don\u2019t know if the support is there from the precinct chair level to actually act upon that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s county executive committee, which acts as its governing body.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How to remove a party chair<\/p>\n

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 \u201ccontinuing to make Tarrant County even more Republican.\u201d French, who has served as chair since October 2023, did not return a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

French wrote on X Friday night that he disagrees with Patrick\u2019s \u201cassessment of the situation.\u201d Patrick and other officials criticized French for a poll he posted on X asking whether Jewish or Muslim people pose a \u201cbigger threat to America.\u201d French has since deleted the poll and said he regrets posting it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"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)<\/p>\n

The Republican Party of Texas\u2019 general rules<\/a>, as of 2024, state that a party\u2019s county executive committee must take a majority vote of the committee\u2019s full body to initiate removal of their party\u2019s chair. If the committee reaches a majority vote that their chair has \u201cfailed to perform his or her duties or is no longer eligible for office,\u201d members must then send a resolution and supporting documentation to the state party\u2019s executive committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At that point, the Republican Party of Texas\u2019 executive committee may begin an \u201cofficial review for remedy,\u201d according to the party\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Earlier this week I posted a poll following the election of an Islamic communist while I am also working to expose the radical islamists in Tarrant County. Some people clearly misunderstood the intent. <\/p>\n

The poll has been deleted. <\/p>\n

I regret posting it.<\/p>\n

Let me be clear:\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Bo French (@BoFrenchTX) June 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mark Hand, a political science professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, said he interpreted the state party\u2019s rules to mean that the state\u2019s 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\u2019s removal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hand said in a statement that the country has moved into \u201ca new era of national politics,\u201d in which controversies that could have brought down a politician in the 1990s and into the early 2010s no longer register with \u201cpolarized primary voters, who know more about national politics, and less about local politics and local politicians, than they used to.\u201d However, the Republican Party\u2019s internal fighting could impact French\u2019s position, he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Bo French has made enough powerful enemies within the party, they could use something like this as an excuse to kick him out,\u201d Hand said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Supporters stand by party chair through controversy<\/p>\n

Republican Tarrant precinct chair Marshall Hobbs, who unsuccessfully campaigned<\/a> for a Fort Worth City Council seat in the May election, said he believes Patrick\u2019s and Parker\u2019s social media posts about French were an attempt to drive confusion and division within the Republican Party.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said they were \u201cirresponsible for making public statements to make our party seem to be disunified.\u201d He maintains that the party\u2019s members are united.<\/p>\n

Hobbs said he\u2019s waiting until the Tarrant GOP\u2019s next county executive meeting to form an opinion on French\u2019s situation but, regardless, he remains committed to his values and mission as a precinct chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs 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\u2019t have any regulation, and you can live your life the way you want to live your life,\u201d Hobbs said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Carlos Turcios, a Republican precinct chair who serves as chair of the Tarrant GOP\u2019s community involvement committee, said he fully supports French and rejects \u201cthe smear campaign being waged against him.\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"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\u2019s State of the City address at Dickies Arena. (Cecilia Lenzen | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

Turcios said Republicans should stand behind leaders like French, who he believes has \u201cdelivered real results for the Tarrant County Republican Party, raising money, energizing the grassroots and helping deliver the county for President Trump.\u201d He said French\u2019s poll that garnered the backlash was a \u201creflection of legitimate concerns about the rise of radical Islam.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d Turcios said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He believes the majority of precinct chairs and local activists stand behind French.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Julie McCarty, CEO of the Tarrant-based political activist group True Texas Project, said the backlash over French\u2019s poll is \u201cridiculous and completely fabricated.\u201d Last summer, her group garnered scrutiny over its 15th anniversary celebration<\/a> hosted at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and featuring panels on \u201cMulticulturalism & the War on White America\u201d and \u201cThe Case for Christian Nationalism.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

McCarty said French should not have apologized or removed the post, and doing so made it look as if he was admitting guilt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019ll give him a pass on that since I know how hard it is to determine the right move under extreme pressure,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201c(French\u2019s) 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Turn the tables! Dan Patrick got a bunch of senators to pile on with him in his attack against @BoFrenchTX<\/a>. Bo is a politician’s worst nightmare because he calls a spade a spade. When they saw the opportunity to use a trigger word against him \u2013 “anti-semitic”, gasp! \u2013 they went\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Julie McCarty (@heyjuliesue) June 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

McCarty said Patrick orchestrated \u201chis minions,\u201d which included the mayor, state senators and Fort Worth\u2019s congressman, to pile on in calling French out online. She said she and other grassroots organizers aren\u2019t falling for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no worry about (French) being removed from office. I\u2019ve not heard one activist say he should be,\u201d McCarty said. \u201cTarrant County loves him, and he\u2019s ours to deal with. (Patrick) needs to stay out of our business.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

What comes next?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rodriguez, the precinct chair who previously called for French\u2019s removal, said she believes too many of Tarrant\u2019s Republican precinct chairs are \u201ccut from the same cloth\u201d as French and won\u2019t support or push for his removal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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 \u201castonished\u201d at French\u2019s dismissive response to their conversation, which she said was along the lines of, \u201cWell, but I live in one of the most affluential areas in Tarrant County.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does not live in the real world,\u201d Rodriguez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"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)<\/p>\n

Allison Campolo, who served as chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party from 2021 to 2023, said French \u201cabsolutely should not be in elected office at any level,\u201d but she\u2019s 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<\/a> last month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d Campolo said in a statement. \u201cI genuinely hope he resigns, but it seems unlikely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although French\u2019s 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\u2019s largest red county \u2014 and that French will be at least partly responsible.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hobbs said he would like to speak directly with French about the controversy, but he\u2019s not sure if the topic will be discussed at the next county executive committee meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Tarrant County GOP\u2019s next executive committee meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. July 12 at the party\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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