The gubernatorial name game

This year's governor's race may come down to a matter of nicknames — or so Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who hopes to make it on the ballot as an independent candidate, seems to believe. Strayhorn is asking to appear on the ballot as Carole Keeton "Grandma" Strayhorn, reflecting that she's campaigned as "One Tough Grandma" since 1998. It seems all her name changes — she started her political career as Carole McClellan, became railroad commissioner and state comptroller as Carole Keeton Rylander and has since remarried and become Strayhorn — have confused voters, but everyone knows who "Grandma" is:

"Once voters are told that Strayhorn is 'One Tough Grandma,' she jumps 10 points in every poll we have taken, and (Gov. Rick) Perry drops," [an e-mail from Strayhorn to her supporters] said. "No public poll has tested her nickname 'Grandma,' only Strayhorn."

Strayhorn and Richard "Kinky" Friedman (who filed as Kinky Friedman) are still about two weeks away from finding out whether they filed enough valid petititon signatures to get placed on the November ballot, and Secretary of State Roger Williams said he won't consider nicknames until then. State law allows candidates to use nicknames on the ballot if they have been commonly known by those nicknames for at least three years before the election, but the law doesn't allow candidates to use campaign slogans on the ballot. So the question is: Is "Grandma" really a nickname for someone who has used it as a campaign slogan, too?

(In case you're wondering, we're in for a nickname-laden gubernatorial race. In addition to Kinky and Grandma, the candidates are Republican James Richard "Rick" Perry and Democrat R. Christopher "Chris" Bell. We think "Ma" Ferguson would be pleased.)