Source: Politics<\/p>\n
HIDALGO, Texas \u2014 Bobby Pulido is learning that the bright lights of politics can be even harsher than music superstardom.<\/p>\n
For the past several months, the Latin Grammy-winning singer and local megacelebrity has been the subject of a steady<\/a> stream of<\/a> national headlines<\/a> scrutinizing his former professional relationship with a one-time bandmate who was imprisoned on child sex molestation charges. He\u2019s also faced criticism for past social media posts that included racial, sexist and homophobic slurs and comments.<\/p>\n During a recent interview with POLITICO \u2014 after a weeknight meet-and-greet with voters in the same stadium where he performed his final concert in November 2025 \u2014 Pulido struck a defensive tone about the scandals that have plagued his campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cI apologize right now,\u201d Pulido said, referring to the social media posts. \u201cI’ll tell you right now, that way you’ll never ask me again. I apologize for everything that I’ve ever joked about that offended anybody. But I can’t continue to revisit every single one.\u201d<\/p>\n Pulido also insisted he did nothing wrong in his working relationship with Frankie Caballero<\/a>, maintaining he did not know about his former accordionist’s child molestation charges. He expects opponents to \u201ckeep dripping, dripping, dripping, dripping\u201d new social media posts.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve been an open book for 30 years,\u201d he said. \u201cI was on Twitter way before I thought about running for office. They’re gonna keep going to old tweets, and there’s a lot of tweets in there that I’m embarrassed of. There’s jokes that I’ve told that I apologize for, and I’ve owned up to them. I’m like, man, that makes me cringe, and I’ve publicly apologized.\u201d<\/p>\n Pulido is one of House Democrats\u2019 prized battleground recruits and a key part of their plan to flip control of the lower chamber. The first-time candidate is widely known in Texas\u2019 15th District for his singing career, and he hopes to capitalize on voters\u2019 anti-incumbency angst in his bid against GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz in a newly redrawn district that President Donald Trump won by 18 points in 2024.<\/p>\n Recent polling shows the race within the margin of error<\/a> or Pulido leading<\/a>, thanks in large part to his near-universal name ID. But while voters have shown a strong interest in political outsiders, those outsiders are also untested \u2014 and new revelations can swamp news cycles and potentially their chances.<\/p>\n The New York Post first reported<\/a> in April on Pulido\u2019s past relationship to Caballero, a registered sex offender who was imprisoned for indecent contact with an eight-year-old girl. Pulido told POLITICO he first learned that Caballero was incarcerated on sex charges from the Post report, and Pulido\u2019s campaign says<\/a> the singer\u2019s management company cut ties with Caballero after learning about a domestic abuse charge in 2021.<\/p>\n Pulido said he\u2019d asked Caballero why he was in prison. \u201cTransferring illegal aliens. That’s what he told me,\u201d he told POLITICO. \u201cAnd I knew he had a lot of substance abuse issues, and he violated a lot of his paroles. Those were the things that he told me.\u201d (Pulido\u2019s campaign told the Texas Tribune<\/a> in July that Pulido only knew Caballero struggled with addiction.)<\/p>\n In June, Axios reported<\/a> Caballero performed with Pulido at a middle school benefit concert in 2018, where children were present, after being released from prison. When asked if he regretted having Caballero play there, Pulido said he did \u2014 knowing what he knows now.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout me knowing, it’s hard for me to say that,\u201d he said. \u201cMe, that I know now, yes. I wish I wouldn’t have taken him there.\u201d<\/p>\n Caballero could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n Pulido\u2019s past social media posts have also come back to haunt the singer-turned-politician. In Twitter posts between 2013 and 2018, Pulido used homophobic and sexist Spanish-language slurs which translate to \u201cf-g,\u201d \u201cf—-t\u201d and \u201cp—y.\u201d In several other posts, he used the word \u201cprieto,\u201d a term referring to dark-skinned individuals many view as pejorative. The posts were first reported by NBC News<\/a> and reviewed by POLITICO. In another 2013 Spanish-language post<\/a> reviewed by POLITICO, Pulido joked that Mexican actor Mauricio Islas \u201cisn\u2019t a f-g, respect him. His boyfriend is.\u201d<\/p>\n Islas, whose partner is a woman, did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Pulido told POLITICO some of the remarks were made in jest toward personal friends. \u201cThat’s how we joke. I would never tell a stranger that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He defended his use of the racial term as a cultural misunderstanding. \u201cIn our culture, we call each other that. It\u2019s like Black people calling each other the n-word,\u201d he said. \u201cWould somebody that called another Black person the n-word be accused of racism? But they want to come and translate what I said to this guy, which is how we say it and we’re joking, they wanted to make it seem like I’m telling some complete stranger that. That’s not what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI’m not making excuses,\u201d Pulido added. \u201cWould you have to apologize to your friend that you joke like that with, that doesn’t have a problem with anything you say? I don’t feel like I should have to apologize to them because they’re my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time he\u2019s flashed irritation when asked about his past posts, saying they distract from issues like affordability and immigration that voters care about. Pulido let loose on the New York Post when the paper reached out for comment about some other controversial social media posts<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ve been getting the same recycled tabloid nonsense since last October,\u201d he said in a July video<\/a> posted to his social media channels.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd for whatever reporter that wants to keep asking,\u201d he said in Spanish, \u201cque no mamen, Kool-Aids. Now go translate that.\u201d The colloquial phrase translates roughly to \u201cdon\u2019t be jerks, assholes\u201d or \u201cdon\u2019t be stupid, assholes.\u201d<\/p>\n De La Cruz\u2019s campaign hopes to make hay out of the issues. In a statement, James Shook, the representative\u2019s campaign manager, said Pulido is a \u201cproduct of the corrupt compadre system that looks out for itself and everybody else is expected to look away.\u201d<\/p>\n In press releases, De La Cruz\u2019s campaign has pointed out apparent inconsistencies in Pulido\u2019s statements. They note that Pulido told The Monitor<\/a> he fired Caballero in 1996, but Caballero appears on two of Pulido\u2019s albums through 1999. In a 2019 podcast, Pulido suggested<\/a> he got Caballero out of jail; he told Bloomberg<\/a> this year that was \u201chyperbolic\u201d and he \u201cmisspoke.\u201d<\/p>\n “Bobby Pulido walked a man convicted of molesting an eight-year-old girl onto a middle school event in this community, and hid his sex offender status from parents,\u201d Shook said. \u201cThis is someone he toured with for years and is on tape bragging he personally bailed him out of jail. The only question left is why he thought he would get away with it.\u201d<\/p>\n