Secretary of state: Kinky's OK, Grandma isn't

It looks like Kinky's in and Grandma is out on the November gubernatorial ballot: Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams ruled today that Richard "Kinky" Friedman can use his nickname on the ballot, but Carole Keeton "Grandma" Strayhorn can't because her nickname is actually a campaign slogan.

The nickname issue came up a while back, when polling indicated that many voters don't know Strayhorn by her name — she's had a variety of last names during her political career and won her last statewide election as Carole Keeton Rylander. Strayhorn has long called herself "One Tough Grandma" in campaign advertising; she hoped to bypass a state rule against using political slogans on the ballot by claiming a lot of people (including her grandkids) call her Grandma. But Williams didn't buy it, pointing out that Strayhorn has never before appeared on a ballot as "Grandma" and doesn't use the nickname on her letterhead.

Friedman's given name, Richard, will be listed on the ballot along with his nickname. We assume the same will be true for the other two candidates, Republican James Richard "Rick" Perry and Democrat R. Christopher "Chris" Bell.