Texas Democratic House hopeful Bobby Pulido has come under scrutiny for past social media posts that include explicit remarks and discussions of pornography. Pulido, a candidate in Texas's 15th Congressional District, addressed the controversy in a video message, acknowledging that some of his old tweets "went too far."
Pulido, a Latin Grammy winner, is challenging incumbent Republican Monica De La Cruz. Review of his past posts on X, formerly Twitter, revealed instances where he engaged with users in ways described as suggestive. In one instance from 2014, he wrote in response to a user, "I want a photo of your tit signed by @grupo_pesado." In another exchange in 2013, he responded with "gracias! Besos," or "Thanks! Kisses," to a user who had posted a sexually suggestive comment about a photo of him.
His campaign declined to provide further details on these interactions. Additionally, in 2016, Pulido made a comment about a photo of Hillary Clinton and Chloë Grace Moretz, which was later deleted after a media outlet contacted his campaign. He also mused about the prevalence of pornography online, mentioning specific sites and referencing "homemade porn while sleep-deprived."
Pulido stated in his video message that his humor, particularly in Spanish, is often sarcastic and uses slang that may not translate well. "Some of these old tweets, they went too far, that’s my bad, and I’ve apologized," he said. His campaign has previously stated that he did not post bail or pick up his former bandmate, Frankie Caballero, from jail or prison, addressing past controversies related to Caballero's conviction for sexual assault.
The candidate's campaign has worked to scrub many of these posts, though at least one tweet from 2018 about receiving explicit content remains online. The controversy comes as Pulido is in a competitive race against De La Cruz for the congressional seat.