I would consider it a business move, being a public servant puts you in the spotlight and in the paper quite often. All names really are are personal brands. That is why a good percentage of Celebrities and Sports stars change or alter their names for public consumption.

Jon Stewart was Jon Leiboweitz
Marilyn Monroe was Norma Jean Mortenssen
etc..

When a young aspiring politician like little Bobby Hitler hits 20 he might look in the mirror and decide, "you know what, lets use my maiden name instead

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In addition to thinking he might not have liked his last name/his last name was unfortunate, I'd like to add that there is a bit of sexism in questioning the name change.

Female politicians change their names all the time when they marry or divorce, and few would even think to judge them for it. When I divorced, I chose not to change my name back, because I liked my married name better (earlier in the alphabet!)

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose

      By any other name would smell as sweet;"
Source(s):
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/romeo_juliet/full.html

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I would not be to suspicious, but I would research it (I just make sure I get all my facts right) if I learned something bad about them then I would be suspicious.
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As an interesting offshoot of this, I'll point out a curiosity of politics here in Louisiana. The election law allows politicians to put their nickname on the ballot in between their first and last names. This results in lots of colorful names on the ballot (to match the colorful politicians). They are not supposed to make up new nicknames but use ones their friends really use.

One politician just elected to congress had the reverse of the colorful nickname theme, his is "Joe". He is a Vietnamese immigrant with a real first name that is difficult for English speakers.
Source(s):
http://josephcaoforcongress.com
http://www.lakeviewcivic.org/Bruneau.html

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There's a lot of reasons people change their names, and the politician should get his reasons for doing so out in the press before the negative pundits latch onto it. That's about the only problem I can see, but it would have to be managed carefully.The reason for the name change might actually be a strength. Is he honoring a maternal-line parent? Returning to an historically correct surname that was changed when his ancestors moved here? These could be perceived as strengths, and make for a more memorable candidate.I'd withhold an opinion until I found out more. If it turned out he changed his name to
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