Latina Candidate For Texas Lt. Governor Eludes Most Latino Voters Because Of Surname – Van De Putte
*I’m troubled by the implication that politics eludes Latino voters if it doesn’t include a Latino surname. Especially in Texas, a Latina with a non-Latino surname is not unusual. The real story is that politics, as Tip O’neill refrained, is local, meaning familiar. A Latino last name will only go so far, Van de Putte’s work is to make herself familiar to voters, and if emphasizing her heritage works … VL
In a state where Democrats are trying to curb the Republican dominance in elections, and looking to the large Latino population as one key way to achieve that, there is a Latina Democrat who has a shot at winning this November.
But there’s an ironic challenge that could get in the way – many Latinos do not know that the Latina candidate for lieutenant governor shares their ethnicity because her name is Leticia Van De Putte.
Van De Putte, who is a state senator and of Mexican descent, uses her husband’s surname.
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[Photo by thetexastribune]
