Karl Rove Trashes ‘Bigot’ Republican — Reportedly Says He’s Voting for a Democrat for First Time in 30+ Years

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Karl Rove, the veteran GOP political operative and Fox News contributor, reportedly told the crowd at a Headliners Club lunch in Austin that he will vote for the Democrat running to serve on the Texas Railroad Commission – the first time he’s voted for a Democrat since 1994.

Rove, the “architect” of President George W. Bush’s two presidential wins, “said he will vote for Jon Rosenthal, a Houston Democrat running to serve the Texas Railroad Commission, after Republican Bo French posted racist comments on Sunday about South Asian students at the University of Texas at Austin,” reported the Texas Tribune’s Carlos Nogueras.

Rove told the crowd at the member-only lunch that French was a “bigot” and that he could not support him. Nogueras confirmed the remark with “three attendees to whom The Texas Tribune has granted anonymity to discuss the conversation.”

Rove added that the last time he voted for a Democrat was for Texas Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock during his 1994 reelection bid.

French sparked angry condemnation from both sides of the aisle over the weekend after he posted a photo of a diverse crowd at a University of Texas at Austin game and wrote, “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”

“This is the Republican nominee for statewide office,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) posted in response to French, adding, “Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized. This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad.”

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