A Texas Democrat, Katy Padilla Stout, seems to have confused the Communist Manifesto with Mein Kampf while trying to fundraise for her campaign in a post on X that has since been deleted.
Stout, who is running for the Democratic nomination in Texas’ 23rd congressional district, accused her Republican opponent, Brandon Herrera, a YouTuber, of defending ownership of Mein Kampf. She added a donation link to her post along with an image of Herrera holding a book.
In response to her deleted post, Herrera pointed out, “That’s the communist manifesto, genius,” and shared his own donation link, inviting contributions from those who “want to support a candidate who can read.”
The Republican candidate further criticized Stout, highlighting her apparent lack of knowledge about the difference between the two books and mentioning that she mistakenly asserted there are 26 counties in the district instead of the correct number, which is 27.
In a podcast appearance on Mission: Texas, Stout had claimed the 23rd congressional district covers 26 counties, even though the 2025 congressional map shows 27.
Following the deletion of her post, Herrera mocked Stout in another post, questioning whether she felt embarrassed as a teacher for misreading the title of the book in her own photo.
Herrera secured the Republican nomination for the district in March 2026 after former Republican Texas Rep. Tony Gonzalez withdrew from the race amid controversy regarding a past affair with a staff member who had died by suicide in September 2025.
