Kristian Carranza

Kristian Carranza is a native of San Antonio's Southside running for Texas House District 118, one of the state's only true swing districts. Born as Kristian Kelly Renee Thompson, she was raised by her single mother Mary Jane Carranza without the support of her biological father. She started working at age 16 at Bill Miller Bar-B-Q to help pay the bills while her mother faced chronic health issues without health insurance. She was a few credits shy of graduating from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in 2013 when her mother became gravely ill, and she is completing her degree through a program for returning students in summer 2026. With nearly 15 years of community organizing experience, she has registered over 10,000 voters in Texas and helped families enroll in healthcare under the Affordable Care Act.

Born Kristian Kelly Renee Thompson, raised by single mother Mary Jane Carranza on San Antonio's Southside. Her biological father walked out on the family; she legally changed her surname from Thompson to Carranza (her mother's maiden name) in January 2023, though she had used the name professionally since 2015. Started working at age 16 at Bill Miller Bar-B-Q to help pay family bills. Grew up moving between her grandmother's house and an aunt's home. Left college to care for her mother during illness.