WASHINGTON — In a development stirring the political scene, Bobby Pulido, a candidate representing Texas House Democrats, has come under scrutiny for his controversial social media activity. According to a review by The Post, Pulido solicited explicit photos from women and discussed themes related to pornography online.

The 55-year-old Pulido, who holds the accolade of a Latin Grammy and once captivated audiences with a bold music video portrayal of a public masturbator, is ambitiously trying to dethrone Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) in Texas’s contentious 15th Congressional District.

“I want a photo of your tit signed by @grupo_pesado,” Pulido wrote in response to a since-deleted post on Twitter (now X) in 2014, referencing a Mexico-based band with whom he has collaborated in the past.

In an eyebrow-raising exchange, Pulido responded to being tagged in a social media post filled with cheeky banter: “f—ing idiot, I love you little buddy,” highlighting his approachable, albeit controversial, online persona.

That exchange followed a shirtless image Pulido posted of himself with the English-translated caption, “I read you guys with this face, friends…”

Pulido’s engaging social media presence can be traced back further. About a year before, he sparked attention by responding to a post where a user complimented a “sexy” photo of him, demonstrating his willingness to court the limelight.

The user wrote, “I liked your photo, it looks really hot, but what the f—, or rather too sexy for my taste alone, just shove it in me, my love,” according to Pulido’s quoting of them in a 2013 tweet, per a translation.

The user, “@AlieenLugo,” has since deleted their account. Ten days later, Pulido replied with “gracias! Besos,” or, “Thanks! Kisses.”

Amidst the swirling controversy, Pulido’s campaign team has remained tight-lipped. They have neither confirmed nor clarified any additional interactions that might have occurred as a result of these exchanges, leaving room for speculation as his congressional campaign heats up.

The candidate has found himself in hot water over other suggestive social media posts to and about women.

In 2016, for example, he remarked on a photo of Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton standing next to actress Chloë Grace Moretz, both of whom were holding donuts.

“Girl, this is what happens to you after a natural childbirth…,” Pulido wrote, according to a Mediate report from February.

The Democrat deleted that tweet after the outlet contacted his campaign about it.

Pulido also mused that “It’s impossible to have Twitter and not watch porn,” and informed his followers that “there’s a website called youporn [sic] and that it’s cool.”

The Tejano music star also shared a link to the porn site XVideos, riffing on “homemade porn while sleep-deprived.”

Those posts were scrubbed by his team after his campaign was asked about them. But The Post found another tweet about explicit content that is still up.

“We all have that friend who’s always sending porn via WhatsApp. Thanks, but an occasional photo or video is enough for me,” Pulido tweeted on July 4, 2018, per a translation.

Beyond his suggestive tweets, Pulido has faced controversy over his ties to his longtime former bandmate Frankie Caballero, who was convicted of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl in 2014.

During an appearance on a YouTube show with comedian Jose Luis Zagar in 2019, Pulido boasted about how he went to get Caballero “out of jail,” while skipping over details of the alleged offenses.

As The Post previously reported, Pulido continued to tour with Caballero after his release from prison following a four-year sentence.

Pulido’s spokesperson previously told The Post that the congressional hopeful didn’t post “Caballero’s bail or pick him up from jail or prison” and was just riffing to Zagar about how he gave Caballero a chance to perform.

Court records also indicate that Caballero’s son, Frankie Jr., pleaded guilty in 2002 to sexually abusing a 14-year-old. Like his father, Caballero Jr., had ties to Pulido, describing himself as having “grown up touring” with the aspiring congressman.

In response to inquiries from The Post about his recently unearthed social media comments, Pulido put out a video message to his fans, calling questions about his past remarks “recycled tabloid nonsense.”

“Years ago, I joked around with my fans on Twitter, mostly in Spanish. Look, I’m from South Texas, and Mexican humor is sarcastic, brutal, and full of slang that doesn’t necessarily survive the Google Translate test,” he said.

“Some of these old tweets, they went too far, that’s my bad, and I’ve apologized.”

The quest to identify the cause of a widespread diarrhea-inducing parasite outbreak that has spanned multiple states continues, as official sources reveal that the suspected origin has tested negative for the pathogen in question.

On Sunday, the FDA confirmed that lettuce from Taylor Farms, previously believed to be the culprit of the cyclosporiasis outbreak, showed a false-positive result for cyclospora, the parasite responsible for this infection.

Last Friday, Taylor Farms proactively announced a recall of its lettuce cultivated in Mexico. This move came amid growing concerns as the CDC and FDA scrutinized the shredded lettuce that the company delivered to Taco Bell outlets across the U.S. as a potential source of the health scare.

The company stated that none of its products were linked to the outbreak. Nevertheless, ‘based on information provided yesterday by the FDA, Taylor Farms de Mexico is voluntarily withdrawing all iceberg lettuce originating from central Mexico.’

In an update released on Sunday, the FDA noted that a sample examination of the lettuce supplied by the company had initially detected a positive result for cyclospora on July 18.

However, ‘due to the complexity in detection of cyclospora, FDA laboratory experts re-reviewed the sample results and have concluded that the finding does not represent true amplification and should be considered a false positive.’

The statement continued: ‘FDA has notified Taylor Farms and continues working with the firm to ensure product implicated in this outbreak has been removed from the market. FDA and state partners continue to collect and analyze product samples.

‘As of July 19, 2026, there are no confirmed positive sample results for product testing for cyclospora.’

Following the FDA’s announcement, Taylor Farms said in a statement on Sunday: ‘Yesterday, FDA informed Taylor Fresh Foods that one of its iceberg lettuce products from central Mexico had a “confirmed positive” test for cyclospora. 

‘Today, we were informed that FDA made a mistake, and this was a false positive. To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for cyclospora.’

No update was given on Taco Bell’s potential role in the outbreak. 

On Thursday, the CDC had posted an update to the cyclosporiasis outbreak investigation, stating tracing had linked the illnesses to shredded iceberg lettuce from a single supplier that had been used at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

Taco Bell issued a statement the same day: ‘Based on ongoing conversations with public health officials, and out of an abundance of caution, Taco Bell has taken immediate action to voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states.

‘The affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states.

‘While no official advisory has been issued, we believe public health is a shared responsibility among restaurants, their suppliers, and authorities, and we are proud to have consistently acted quickly and proactively to protect our guests.

‘Taco Bell has taken precautionary action, and we encourage all relevant restaurants, retailers, and foodservice operators to do the same.’ 

Nationwide, cases of cyclosporiasis are estimated to have climbed near 7,000 across more than 40 states. 

Not all cases are related to this outbreak and the CDC previously said it is ‘also investigating other outbreaks and illnesses of cyclosporiasis nationally that are unrelated to this outbreak.’  

People become infected with cyclosporiasis by eating food or drinking water contaminated with the cyclospora parasite, most commonly through fresh produce such as leafy greens, herbs and berries.

In the US, most cases are typically linked to international travel or imported produce from regions where the parasite is common, including Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

Fresh produce can become contaminated if it is washed or irrigated with water contaminated by human sewage.

Previous outbreaks have been linked to bagged salad kits, cilantro, basil and other leafy greens. 

Cyclosporiasis typically causes explosive diarrhea, abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.

Unlike norovirus or routine food poisoning, however, symptoms often come and go rather than resolving after a few days.

Without treatment, experts say the illness can persist for weeks or repeatedly return.

Anyone with diarrhea lasting more than a few days should seek medical care and specifically ask for a cyclospora test, as it is not routinely ordered, Dr Swapnil Patel, vice chair of medicine at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, told the Daily Mail.

The test detects cyclospora DNA in stool samples and typically requires one to three samples.

Treatment for the infection consists of the antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, sold under the brand names Bactrim, Septra and Cotrim.