Former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores is under fire after being accused of stealing food photos from other social media accounts and passing them off as her own.
The scandal, dubbed “Grubgate,” began earlier in the week when Flores, who’s running for her old seat in south Texas, posted a picture of what she described as “gorditas de masa” cooked over an open-fire skillet.
“The ranch life with family is the best,” she wrote in the now-deleted social media post.
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But as an astute user on X, formerly Twitter, pointed out on Monday, the photo in question had previously appeared in a 2022 Facebook post by the tourism page “Visit Guyana.” The Mexican “gorditas de masa” Flores appeared to pass off as her own turned out to be Guyanese sada roti.
On Wednesday, conservative website Current Revolt published a story that pointed out other instances in which it appeared that Flores had lifted someone else’s photos of traditional Mexican dishes and passed them off as her own, posts that purportedly show her living a humble ranch lifestyle.
In one instance dating to January 2023, Flores posted an Instagram picture of eggs and gorditas on a skillet.
“As a proud Latina who knows how to cook, homemade Mexican food tastes better from a gas stove,” she captioned the photograph.
That same image appeared in a 2021 Facebook post by Izabal Magazine. As Current Revolt pointed out, the stove is actually a wood-burning stove.
The Texas Tribune also reviewed Flores’ Instagram history and found a 2023 post of meat and tortillas on the grill with the caption “Joe Biden is not invited to the carne asada.” A reverse image search showed that the image was posted in 2022 by a Tamaulipas Facebook tourism page.
In a text message to the Texas Tribune, Flores wrote that it was not her “intention to mislead.”
“The photo simply reminded me of my upbringing in Mexico and childhood,” she said. “I deleted the tweet to clear up any confusion. I actually spend my Christmas at [the] ranch with my In-Laws. Happy New Year!”
When asked to clarify which photos she was referencing, Flores told the Texas Tribune reporter to focus on “the border crisis.”
Flores is the first Mexican-born woman to serve in Congress. In 2022, she won a special election in a traditionally Democratic congressional district. Her victory in south Texas was seen by some as a sign that Latino voters there are shifting right politically.
Her time in office, however, was short-lived after redistricting made her seat favorable to Democrats. She was ousted in November 2022 by Democratic Rep. Vincente Gonzalez.
Flores launched a bid for her old seat in June 2023 to challenge the incumbent.
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On Wednesday, Gonzalez’s campaign chimed in on the “Grubgate” drama, writing in a tweet that Flores is “The George Santos of the [Rio Grande Valley].” In December, Santos was expelled from Congress after being federally indicted in connection with a slew of crimes, including wire fraud and identity theft.
