The Bexar County Republican Party in Texas is threatening to sue a Democratic candidate who they allege changed her last name in a bid to appeal to voters in a predominantly Hispanic district.
Kristian Carranza, who legally changed her name from Kristian Thompson in January 2023, is hoping to flip Texas State House District 118 in November. The district, which stretches to the south and east of San Antonio, is currently represented by Republican John Lujan.
Speaking to Newsweek, Carranza said she changed her surname as a tribute to the mother who raised her without her “absent father” and accused Bexar County Republicans of showing a “disregard for women and what it takes to raise a family.”
House District 118, which state records show is about 64 percent Hispanic, is a key target for Texas Democrats in November. In a special runoff election held in 2021, Lujan won what had previously been a Democratic seat with 51 percent of the vote.
Texas Democrat Kristian Carranza. Republicans are threatening the state House candidate with legal action after saying she changed her name for political reasons. Carranza has strongly denied the claim and accused the local GOP of showing a “disregard for women and what it takes to raise a family.”
https://www.kristiancarranza.com/
In a news conference on Tuesday, Kris Coons, the chair of the Bexar County Republican Party, suggested Carranza had changed her name for political reasons.
“We believe that it was changed possibly to have a beautiful Hispanic last name in a beautiful Hispanic district. That’s it, to influence voters that way,” Coons said, local network KENS 5 reported. Coons went on to threaten legal action against Carranza, though she didn’t specify under what law.
In a statement to Newsweek, Carranza said: “Once again, Republican extremists are showing their disrespect for women. I take my last name from my single mother who raised me, not my absent father.
“My mom and grandmother raised me on the Southside—and I’m incredibly proud of my family’s story. We struggled, but my incredibly strong mother and grandmother never quit. Many women change their names for many reasons.”
Carranza went on to describe the threatened lawsuit as “frivolous,” adding, “The Bexar County Republican Party demonstrates their disregard for women and what it takes to raise a family.”
She continued: “We see that in the most extreme abortion ban in the country that fails to protect the life of the mother. We see it in the Republican Party’s neglect of health care, child care, and the real costs that hit working families. Mi nombre es [my name is] Kristian Carranza, and like it or not, I’m running to stand up for San Antonio families.”
Newsweek has contacted Kris Coons, Representative John Lujan and the Bexar County Republican Party for comment via email.
In a statement provided to KENS 5, Lujan said he also had concerns over his Democratic challenger’s name change.
He said: “This situation involving a name change for political reasons is not acceptable, and it’s important that all public figures remain accountable to the people they seek to represent.
“While my opponent will need to address this issue directly with the voters, I want to reiterate my own commitment to transparency and effective representation as the State Representative for District 118.”
Joseph Hoelscher, a trial lawyer in San Antonio, told the network that the Republican threat of a lawsuit had no legal basis.
He said: “The law contemplates that people will use a name that the public may be familiar with even if it’s not that name that they use in private and on their legal documents. There’s nothing here that prohibits here what she’s doing.
“If you willingly file a lawsuit without grounds, you can be either sanctioned just for doing that or countersued.”
According to The Texas Tribune, while Carranza legally changed her name in January 2023, she had been using the name professionally for at least a decade.
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