Texas Republicans lob racist insults at Rep. Gene Wu as he leads Democrats’ walkout

As Republican rhetoric heats up over Texas House Democrats’ quorum-killing walkout, some high-profile state GOP figures have resorted to making racist remarks about state Rep. Gene Wu, who led the exodus.

Among those engaging in the anti-Asian taunts are state Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Galveston Republican who also happens to be running for Texas attorney general.

On Monday, the first day the Texas Legislature was unable to meet due the Dems’ absence, Middleton fired off a tweet inquiring, “Is Gene Wu back in China?”

Users of the X social media platform blasted Middleton’s remark as racist and inappropriate. Many questioned how racism fits in with the Christian values Middleton frequently purports to uphold.

“You are unfit for office, a disgrace to Texas,” Texas Democratic Party Press Secretary Jordan Young replied to Middleton’s tweet.

The backlash didn’t seem to bother Middleton, who fired off another racist jab at Wu two days later.

“Gene Wu has been fighting to put China first and Texas second — even working to allow communist China [to] buy our land out from under us in Texas,” Middleton tweeted. “If he wants a refresher course on Marxism, I’m sure the CCP will take him back.”

“I’ll keep defending the Big Beautiful Map,” the senator added. “No apologies.”

Wu’s family emigrated to Texas from China shortly after he was born, and the lawmaker has publicly stated that they left their native country to escape oppression under its communist government.

Even so, Middleton wasn’t the only prominent Texas Republican to disparage Wu over his ethnic background.

Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French — who’s come under recent fire for antisemitic and anti-Muslim remarks in addition to homophobic slurs — on Tuesday tweeted a threat to undertake a “deep dive” to investigate Wu’s family, adding that their connection to the Chinese Communist Party “is strong I bet.”

Indeed, Wu’s ethnicity has been a frequent target of Republicans, including party officials, according to the Texas Tribune. Without justification, GOP critics have targeted him in social media posts questioning his loyalty to the United States and accusing him of being a puppet of China’s communist government, the news outlet added.
In comments to the Tribune, Democrats cautioned that conservative lawmakers’ racist remarks about Asian Americans raise the risk of violence and harassment being directed against the community. 

“There was a time where someone made a racist comment — especially in a community setting or in a testimony — we would have our elected officials move swiftly to correct them, to correct the record, to defend our elected officials,” Amatullah Contractor of the Asian American Democrats of Texas told the outlet. “When our elected officials start making these comments, then it is a free for all.”

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This article appears in Jul 23 – Aug 6, 2025.