SPOTLIGHT RACE: Kristian Carranza for TX-HD118
’m a Southside girl — that means I know who I am, where I come from, and what I stand for. My story starts with my mom, whose family’s name I proudly carry. Because where some see struggle, I see grit, sacrifice, and a never-give-up attitude. A single parent without a college degree, making it work meant occasionally relying on the support of family, changing schools to follow jobs, and a lot of hustle to pay the bills, month after month.
From mom, I got my drive. I’ve been working since I was 16, taking jobs at Bill Miller’s, retail at the mall, to administrative jobs on campus. I graduated from McCollum High School and during my senior year at A&M Corpus Christi, my mom’s health issues became more aggravated, and she wasn’t able to keep her job and had no health insurance. So I moved back home, got a new job to pay the bills, and helped her navigate the care we could afford.
When mom was back on her feet, I went back to school, this time with a clearer sense of purpose. I started in jobs as a community organizer, worked on campaigns across the country, and managed staff and million-dollar budgets, making it all the way to Washington, D.C., and the White House. From enrolling families in health care under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act to inviting voters from all backgrounds to have a say in shaping their country’s future, I never forgot who and what I was fighting for. And that’s what brought me back home.
I’m running for State Representative for all the families who know the meaning of grit and sacrifice but are losing faith that our political system is serious about tackling the challenges working families like mine face every day. And our current incumbent is your stereotypical politician. Given a seat at the table, he chooses to stand on the sidelines.
Facing a choice between funding public schools or stripping their funding through private school vouchers, he voted for vouchers. When tens of thousands of families lost their health care due to bureaucratic mistakes, he reacted with silence. And when it comes to the most basic individual right of a woman to choose for herself, if, when, and how many children to have, he joins the most extreme faction of his party.
Like I said, I know who I am, where I come from, and what I stand for. This campaign is about fighting for a seat at the table for families like mine. And when we get there, you won’t see us silent on the sidelines, you’ll see us hard at work.
https://www.kristiancarranza.com/