A Texas Democratic congressional candidate's campaign spending on cookies, liquor, and Mexican restaurant meals has become a late flashpoint in one of the country's most closely watched House races, after federal records showed more than $4,300 in purchases earlier this year. The expenditures by Katy Padilla Stout, the Democratic nominee in Texas' 23rd Congressional District, have drawn scrutiny from her Republican opponent, Brandon Herrera, whose campaign website now highlights the purchases as a line of attack.
According to spending details cited in an August report and records attributed to the Federal Election Commission, Stout's campaign reported five transactions totaling $4,338.14 in March and April. The reported purchases included $675 for cookies for a campaign event, $1,289.22 at Total Wine, and $2,373.92 at Las Guitarras Cocina Mexicana. The filings establish that the campaign reported the expenditures but do not establish whether the purchases were improper, whether any were for personal use, or how many people attended the associated events.
Herrera's campaign has seized on the spending, maintaining an opposition website called The Real Katy Stout. Under a section labeled «Cookie gate,» the site displays the $675 expenditure and its reported purpose, «COOKIES FOR EVENT.» The website also criticizes Stout's positions on immigration, taxes, and other issues. In a statement, Stout said the disbursements «were for campaign and fundraising events which were attended by our supporters.» She added that «sugar cookies, particularly Texas-shaped ones, hold a special place in Texan culture» and that the campaign bought them from a local bakery «because we believe in supporting small businesses.»
The spending questions come as the two candidates compete for a congressional seat representing one of the country's largest districts along the southern border. During a televised debate in San Antonio hosted by WOAI/KABB, Stout drew attention for an unusual exchange involving Herrera's online videos. «He made millions of dollars after making jokes online, making fun of Nazis, making fun of all of these things that we know he does not need to be doing,» Stout said in a heated moment. Herrera responded, «And here I thought making fun of Nazis was a good thing.» Stout later apologized and clarified her criticism after closing remarks, saying, «I apologize, I did misspeak.» She added that Herrera «chooses to goose-step on YouTube for clickbait and money so that he can promote that type of ideology.»
Stout told Fox News Digital that «mocking Nazis is fine, and that is not what I objected to, nor is that what my opponent does.» She said she objects to content that «trivializes veteran suicide, rape, child murder, women's bodies and the Holocaust.» She also pointed to specific videos, including one from May 2022 in which she said Herrera goose-steps to «Erika» and touts an MP-40 machine gun, and another from June 2020 in which she said he says «for the fatherland» before firing a Nazi-made STG 44, calling it «like a religious experience.» She argued that «calling it a joke doesn't change what it is: giving a platform to Nazi symbols and weaponry for clicks and money.» Herrera's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The debate also covered gun rights, immigration, and the cost of living. Stout, a former teacher and child welfare attorney, has emphasized affordability and corruption as central themes of her campaign. Herrera, a firearms manufacturer and online personality who has adopted «Let's Go Brandon» as his campaign slogan, has campaigned on border law enforcement, tax reductions, and Second Amendment protections. The two are vying to replace former Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, who resigned earlier this year after acknowledging an affair with a staffer. Texas' 23rd Congressional District stretches from the San Antonio area toward El Paso and includes hundreds of miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. Early voting begins Oct. 19, with Election Day scheduled for Nov. 3.