Maiden or Married, Female Candidates Take Heat for Their Names on Ballots

Last week, a statewide official in Georgia accused Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn of cashing in on her father's reserve of political goodwill during her campaign. This is true, but she's definitely not alone. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) also happen to have famous political dads and have run ads featuring their parents. They have mentioned their parents at events. In fact, no one voting this year could ever forget the connection.

 

The difference between them and Nunn is that she stands accused of using a fake name on the trail, something Pryor and Begich never had to deal with. Being men, they had no choice but to run on their father's name. Nunn, on the other hand, decided not to take her husband's last name, Martin, and is getting some heat for it.

 

The candidate told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “It really, frankly, didn’t occur to me to change my name.”

 

 

Former Arkansas governor and senator David Pryor and his wife, Barbara, campaign for their son, Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, who is in a close race to win his third Senate term, in Berryville, Ark., on Oct. 8. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

Unfortunately, this is par-for-the-course in American politics.