The name game: Van de Putte’s surname creates challenges in her race for Texas No. 2 job

By Scott K. Parks, Dallas Morning News

What do you think of when you hear the name “Van de Putte”?

Rembrandt van Rijn and the Dutch masters? Tulips, wooden clogs and windmills?

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, Texas Democrats’ choice for lieutenant governor next year, is a Latina pharmacist from San Antonio.

Her birth name is Leticia San Miguel. Pete Van de Putte, her husband, traces his roots to Belgium. She’s been a proven vote-getter in Bexar County since she was first elected state representative in 1990. And she’s a prominent Democratic voice, particularly during the meltdown that followed Sen. Wendy Davis’ filibuster of an abortion law in the state Senate this summer.

But this is her first statewide race, and she’s virtually unknown among voters throughout the rest of Texas. Party leaders hope she can help steal suburban white women from the GOP and boost turnout of Hispanic voters, who lean heavily Democratic but vote at a much lower rate than other demographic groups.

But with her married name, will Hispanic voters recognize her as one of their own?

Click HERE to read the full story.

[Photo courtesy of Leticia Van de Putte’s Facebook page]

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