Florida State Senate District 36 candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in Florida, 2022

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This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Florida State Senate District 36 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

• Click here to see candidates and election results.
• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Florida State Senate District 36

Incumbent Ileana Garcia defeated Raquel Pacheco in the general election for Florida State Senate District 36 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ileana Garcia (R)	59.0	75,773
		Raquel Pacheco (D)	41.0	52,600

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 128,373
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Raquel Pacheco (D)

I'm a Veteran committed to defending our democracy and fighting for equality.

Abortion is health care and denying women access is unconstitutional.

Elected officials should focus on solving real problems like inflation, housing shortages and health care access, not fighting culture wars that create division.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Raquel Pacheco (D)

My whole life has taught me to bring people together. When I was in the military, you roll up your sleeves and get the job done; people’s lives are on the line and you have no choice but to. As a small business owner, if I am going to pay my employees a dignified wage, we need to confront problems and seek solutions and make sure we do well for our clients. As a single mother, I am acutely aware that I have a young life relying on me, and I want to do the best for my son. Extreme ideologies have never appealed to me, and an America open to difference and women’s freedom has quite literally made my daily life possible. We cannot go back. I care about health care access, housing and affordability, and protecting our environment. I consider abortion health care because quite often it's a life saving procedure. I also believe in advancing Democracy, not going back in time and revoking rights that we have had for 50 years. I believe in working across party lines to solve real life problems facing the people of my district, not in gaslighting issues that serve only to divide us. I want to do my part in state government to push back against extremism.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Raquel Pacheco (D)

I'm honest, kind and considerate. I am raising my son to value those characteristics while simultaneously giving back to the community that you live in.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Raquel Pacheco (D)

I'd like to show those around me that getting involved is one way to create positive change and that there are many ways to become part of the solution. But that complacency should never be an option.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Raquel Pacheco (D)

As a small business owner and single mother I have had many challenges but each one has taught me valuable lessons that I am grateful for today.

See also

More about these elections:

• Florida State Senate elections, 2022

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