MAGA Rep's 'Quinceañera' Dig Aimed At Tejano Star Opponent Backfires Spectacularly

Several studies conducted since 2016 have noted that Republican candidates rely more on fear mongering, hate, and attack adds than their opponents, whether Democrats or third party.

Illinois Democrat Kat Abughazaleh, running for a spot on November's ballot for a seat in the House of Representatives, exploited that trend by launching attack ads against herself. Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee drew backlash for using AI deepfake videos in their attacks on Democratic candidates.

The GOP's defacto leader, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, is infamous for using childish nicknames, puerile insults, and outright slurs to attack anyone he perceives as an enemy.

Keeping the tradition of puerile behavior over having an actual platform or agenda alive, Texas MAGA Republican Representative Mónica De La Cruz attacked her Democratic challenger, José Roberto "Bobby" Pulido Jr., not by slamming his beliefs or his campaign goals if chosen to represent Texas's 15th congressional district, but by mocking his profession as a Tejano singer.

Which is odd, since De La Cruz also has an entertainment industry background.

De La Cruz graduated from college in Texas with a degree in marketing then studied Spanish in Mexico City, Mexico. She interned for Turner Entertainment before working for Cartoon Network Latin America. Before being elected to Congress in 2022, she listed her profession as an insurance agent and business owner.

But De La Cruz said in a video released by her campaign:

"This election isn’t about who you want performing at your niece’s quinceañera. It’s about who you trust with your family’s future."

You can see her comments here:

Her personal attacks against Pulido weren't well received.

Monica De La Cruz/Facebook

Monica De La Cruz/Facebook

Monica De La Cruz/Facebook

Monica De La Cruz/Facebook

Monica De La Cruz/Facebook

Monica De La Cruz/Facebook

But perhaps it was the only response she could think of to counter Pulido's Reed Award winning campaign ad.

Pulido, who won his March primary to become the Democratic candidate for De La Cruz's 15th congressional district seat, responded to her dig in his own video released on Tuesday, March 10.

The video was captioned:

"My opponent said I only belong playing at quinceañeras. I’ll take that as a compliment."

"Quinceañeras are about family, tradition, and community. That’s exactly what this campaign is about."

"Got one coming up in District 15? Send us a DM. I’d be honored to stop by."

You can see his video response here:

While his response was well thought out, the public's response should bother De La Cruz even more.

By Friday, Pulido had received over 2,000 quinceañera invitations.

Pulido made it to his first quinceañeras this weekend and shared photos and videos on Facebook.

People loved Pulido's decision to embrace De La Cruz's mocking of an important part of Texas and Latino culture.

Bobby Pulido for Texas/Facebook

Bobby Pulido for Texas/Facebook

Bobby Pulido for Texas/Facebook

Bobby Pulido for Texas/Facebook

Bobby Pulido for Texas/Facebook

Bobby Pulido for Texas/Facebook

Bobby Pulido for Texas/Facebook

Bobby Pulido for Texas/Facebook

Bobby Pulido for Texas/Facebook

Bobby Pulido for Texas/Facebook

Bobby Pulido for Texas/Facebook

Tejano culture refers to the unique, evolving heritage of Texans of Mexican descent—a blend of European Spanish, Indigenous American, and United States influences.

Part of mainstream culture through the popular Tex-Mex cuisine, it also includes blended bilingualism (Spanglish) and music (conjunto and Tejano).

Tejano culture originated in South Texas and plays a significant role in both Texas's history and the state's current social fabric.