Democrat Jon Rosenthal elected Texas railroad commissioner over controversial Republican Bo French

State representative Rosenthal's win comes after national backlash to French's social media remarks targeting south Asian Americans

Jon Rosenthal has won a seat on the Texas railroad commission, a powerful state regulatory agency, beating out two challengers including the controversial Republican nominee Bo French whose campaign ignited a firestorm over his bigoted remarks.

Rosenthal, a Democrat, will join the three-member body that Democrats have been shut out of for decades. The state agency is charged with regulating Texas's multibillion oil and gas industry, and has not had railroad oversight since 2005.