A stunning political rupture is unfolding in Texas after longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove reportedly announced that he will cross party lines and vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal in the race for the Texas Railroad Commission.
Rove, the former senior adviser to President George W. Bush and a veteran Texas Republican political strategist, reportedly made the declaration Monday during a private luncheon at Austin’s Headliners Club. According to attendees who spoke with The Texas Tribune, Rove said he plans to support Rosenthal after Republican candidate Bo French’s controversial social media posts targeting University of Texas students. Rove reportedly described French as a “bigot.”
The move is particularly notable because Rove has spent decades as one of the Republican Party’s most recognizable political strategists. The Texas Tribune reported that Rove said he had previously voted for only one Democratic candidate — former Texas Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock in 1994. That would make the Rosenthal vote an extraordinary break from his recent voting history.
At the center of the dispute is French, the Republican nominee for the three-member Texas Railroad Commission, an agency whose responsibilities extend far beyond its name. The commission regulates the state’s massive oil and gas industry, including energy production, pipelines and other infrastructure.
