Bobby Pulido: The Quinceañera Candidate

Bobby Pulido spent thirty years building a career as a Tejano music star. Now he's running for Congress in South Texas, in one of the poorest parts of the state, trying to unseat a Republican incumbent. Pulido's opponent mocked his music career, saying the election wasn't about who you want performing at your niece's quinceañera. So he turned that dig into four thousand invitations to quinceañeras and other celebrations across Texas. Pulido thinks the key to flipping the district is to keep showing up in unconventional places. Sarah McCammon spoke with him in Washington, D.C. IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 — Cold open 01:15 — The dig, flipped into 4,000 invitations 04:38 — Trust beats policy / ranch halls 07:47 — What "Tejano" means 12:25 — Immigration, up close 18:16 — Why Hispanic voters moved right 21:46 — The gender gap and purity tests 24:50 — Faith and the "godless" label 27:19 — Rural respect over money 30:31 — Why a Democrat / social media's cancer 32:38 — Celebrity: weakness or strength 36:06 — Why leave the stage for Congress Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.