Bo French, who is running to lead a state agency, has in the past posted controversial and racist statements online

Bo French, a Texas Republican running to lead a powerful state agency, has a history of making controversial social media posts, including calling for the public execution of Democratic leaders, according to a recent investigation from CNN’s KFile team.

French, who is running to lead Texas’s railroad commission, has recently faced criticism from members of his own party after making a racist post on social media. Powerful Republicans, including the Texas senator John Cornyn, said they would not support French in the upcoming election.

But the latest spat over French’s social media has led to a deeper look at his online history. In a review of old posts from social media accounts that seemingly belonged to French, CNN’s KFile team found that the Texas Republican repeatedly called for public executions of opponents.

In 2020, French used a now-suspended X account to seemingly call for the execution of former president Barack Obama and other Obama administration officials that he believed had disseminated false information about Russia’s involvement in the 2016 presidential election.