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