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This race is getting spicy.
Former Congresswoman Mayra Flores, a Republican seeking re-election in South Texas, has been accused of stealing photos of Mexican food from other social media accounts and pretending they are snapshots of her cooking — a scandal that’s allegedly been dubbed, “GrubGate.”
Earlier this week Flores, who is challenging US Rep. Vincente Gonzalez (D-Texas) to regain her old seat, came under fire after sharing a photo that internet sleuths linked to a Facebook page, “Visit Guyana,” in March 2022, the Texas Tribune reported.
The photo of what Flores referred to as “gorditas de masa” was shared with the caption “the Ranch life with Family is the best,” though users on X were also quick to note the food in the picture was not gorditas de masa.
Following the incident, conservative website Current Revolt found several other instances where Flores shared others’ photos of Mexican cooking online and passed them off as her own.
The Tribune also found at least two such instances on her Instagram in the last year, including a post from July captioned “Joe Biden is not invited to the carne asada” in both English and Spanish.
In one post Flores wrote, “As a proud Latina who knows how to cook, homemade Mexican food tastes better from a gas stove,” alongside a photo of eggs and tortillas on what appears to be a wood-burning stove.
The photo, however, was initially shared on Facebook in 2021 by a Spanish-language magazine.
In another post, Flores shared her love for the “simple things in life” like a “good breakfast” alongside a photo published two years ago by a Mexican food photographer.
Flores told the Tribune Wednesday that it was never 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 ranch with my In-Laws. Happy New Year!”
When asked to specify which of the photos she was referring to, Flores suggested the outlet should focus on “the border crisis.”
Flores, the first Mexican-born woman to serve in Congress, later changed her handle on X amid the backlash — and has reportedly been blocking anyone who has accused her of passing off the photos as her own cooking.
“The George Santos of the RGV,” wrote the Gonzalez campaign, referring to the Rio Grande Valley where they live.
Gonzalez then called Flores a liar using the hashtags “#FlukeFlores” and “MayraMentiras.”
Flores is running to unseat Gonzalez, who was elected in November 2022.
Flores did not return requests for comment from The Post.
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