Texas congressional candidate and Tejano music star Bobby Pulido is facing scrutiny after reports revealed that he performed for years alongside a bandmate who was a registered sex offender convicted of a crime involving a child.
Pulido, a two-time Latin Grammy Award-winning singer and the Democratic nominee for Texas’ 15th Congressional District, has come under fire over his past professional relationship with accordion player Frankie Caballero. The controversy emerged after reports detailed how Caballero continued performing with Pulido years after serving prison time for a child sex offense conviction.
According to public records cited in multiple reports, Caballero was convicted in 2014 of indecent contact with an 8-year-old girl, a second-degree felony under Texas law. He served approximately four years in prison and was required to register as a sex offender following his release.
The issue has become politically damaging for Pulido because videos and social media posts show Caballero performing alongside the singer between 2018 and 2021, well after the conviction. Reports identified appearances in several cities across the country, including Las Vegas, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Tucson.
Bobby Pulido and Frankie Caballero via Facebook
Pulido’s campaign has strongly denied that the candidate knowingly employed or associated with a registered sex offender. Campaign manager Abel Prado said Pulido was unaware of Caballero’s criminal history and would never have knowingly continued working with him had he known about the conviction.
“Frankie Caballero has long struggled with addiction issues and Bobby Pulido has acknowledged and attempted to help him with that battle,” Prado said in a statement. He added that Caballero was immediately removed from Pulido’s organization after management allegedly learned of his criminal history in 2021.
The controversy has provided ammunition for Republicans seeking to retain the district. Incumbent Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz quickly seized on the reports, accusing Pulido of exercising poor judgment and questioning his claims that he was unaware of Caballero’s criminal record.
WATCH:
🚨 UNEARTHED
Texas Democrat Bobby Pulido brought a registered sex offender with him to perform in front of children at a Texas middle school.
Pulido’s friend had just finished a 4-year prison sentence for indecent sexual contact with an 8-year-old girl. pic.twitter.com/xDdZ2ZRntt
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 22, 2026
De La Cruz addressed the report in a Thursday Instagram post, sharing a screenshot of the New York Post article detailing Pulido’s past association with Caballero and issuing a statement of his own.
“My heart goes out to the children who were sexually abused by a close friend and business associate of Bobby Pulido,” De La Cruz wrote.
Critics have questioned whether it is plausible that Pulido was unaware of Caballero’s past. Some musicians familiar with the South Texas Tejano music scene told reporters that Caballero’s conviction was widely known within industry circles. Former musician and journalist Ramon Rodriguez argued that performers at Pulido’s level typically know the backgrounds of individuals who travel and perform with them regularly.
“This really raises some concerns about Bobby’s judgment. You get to a certain point in music where they vet everybody around you,” Rodriguez told The Post, saying that the Tejano scene is “a very tight-knit industry.”
The revelations arrive during what is expected to be one of the most closely watched congressional races in Texas. Democrats view Pulido as a strong challenger because of his popularity throughout South Texas and his name recognition among Hispanic voters. Republicans, meanwhile, have spent months highlighting aspects of Pulido’s entertainment career and social media history in an effort to portray him as unfit for office.
Pulido has rejected those attacks and maintains that his opponents are attempting to weaponize his decades-long music career for political gain. As the campaign intensifies, the dispute over Pulido’s relationship with Caballero is likely to remain a major point of contention in a race that could help determine whether Democrats can regain ground in South Texas.
Detailed court records related to the 2014 child sex crime are not publicly available because the victim was a minor. However, information regarding the charge, the sentence imposed, and the offender’s sex offender registration status can be found through the Texas Department of Public Safety.
