Helen Raikes

Helen Raikes ran for election to the Nebraska State Board of Education to represent District 5. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Raikes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Helen Raikes was born in Jefferson, Iowa. She earned a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University in 1966, a graduate degree from the University of California, Davis in 1969, and a Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1981.^[1] She earned Other education from the University of California, Davis. Raikes' professional experience includes working as a Willa Cather professor of child, youth, and family studies at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. She served as the co-director of the Gallup/St. Elizabeth Child Development Center from 1983 to 1994 and worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 1994 to 2005. Raikes reported being affiliated with the following organizations:^[2]

Nebraska Historical Society Foundation, Board of Directors
Omaha Early Learning Centers, Board of Directors, 2016-2019
Chair, Early Childhood Data Coalition, Indicators Subcommittee, 2015-present
Lincoln Community Foundation Board of Directors, 2014-present
Nebraska Early Childhood Endowment Board of Trustees (appointed by Governor David Heinemann). 2007-present (reappointed in 2013)
Buffett Early Childhood Fund, Treasurer, 2007-present
Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, Board of Directors. 2003-present
Member, Nebraska Early Childhood Data Coalition (formerly chair), 2006-present
First Plymouth United Church of Christ Congregational Church, Lincoln, 1994-present

Elections

2022

General election

General election for Nebraska State Board of Education District 5

Incumbent Kirk Penner defeated Helen Raikes in the general election for Nebraska State Board of Education District 5 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kirk Penner (Nonpartisan)	54.7	43,050
	Helen Raikes (Nonpartisan)	45.3	35,631

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 78,681
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Nebraska State Board of Education District 5

Incumbent Kirk Penner and Helen Raikes advanced from the primary for Nebraska State Board of Education District 5 on May 10, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kirk Penner (Nonpartisan)	60.7	32,492
✔	Helen Raikes (Nonpartisan)	39.3	21,007

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 53,499
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

General election

General election for Nebraska State Senate District 23

Incumbent Bruce Bostelman defeated Helen Raikes in the general election for Nebraska State Senate District 23 on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Bruce Bostelman (Nonpartisan)	62.1	11,337
	Helen Raikes (Nonpartisan)	37.9	6,905

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,242
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Nebraska State Senate District 23

Incumbent Bruce Bostelman and Helen Raikes advanced from the primary for Nebraska State Senate District 23 on May 12, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Bruce Bostelman (Nonpartisan)	62.4	5,703
✔	Helen Raikes (Nonpartisan)	37.6	3,430

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,133
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

To view Raikes' endorsements in the 2020 elections, please click here.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

Helen Raikes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Raikes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a mother, a grandmother and a retired educator. I was Willa Cather Professor in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska. I live on the outskirts of a farm that has been in the Raikes family for over 100 years. I am the daugher, granddaughter, wife and mother of farmers. My son now heads Raikes farms and my daughter-in-law runs a storefront selling Wagu-Angus beef in Ashland. I am a moderate and am known for bringing people together around difficult issues. My late husband was Senator Ron Raikes who chaired the education committee in the Nebraska Unicameral. We were thought partners around education and especially in regards to early childhood education, where we were successful in passing legislation that led to exapnding NDE programs from a few pilot schools to the majority of schools in Nebraska today. We were also successful in passing legislation and a Constitutional Amendment that created the Sixpence program whereby schools serve infants and toddlers who need extra supports. When my husband was killed in a farming accident I vowed to finish our work and that is the first reason I am stepping up. Others are for grandchildren of myself and Nebraskans and to support our schools and democracy.

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?

I am a moderate candidate who loves education and children. I believe I am best all around for this role--best qualified, best for children, best for all parents, best for supporting teachers, best for communities and local control of schools.
Nebraska needs to remember who we are--nonpartisan, loves children and schools, indepedent (Nebraska Way), and doesn't need angry, East Coast messaging.Our schools are rated consistently in the top 10 in the nation. Let's keep it that way.
We have challenges to stay in the top 10 states for educatioin--1. Teacher shortages; 2. Mental Health; 3. Career and college readiness; 4. pre-k expansion needed. Our energy needs to be focused on solving basic challenges.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Participation of citizens, parents and education constituents in the education process--transparency. Maintaining strong public schools because they are center of our rural communities.

Teacher certification and preparation so we build our teacher pool but also maintain our high standards for prepared teachers. Building the workforce in other areas as well--paras, substitutes, bus drivers, etc. There are ways to do this, e.g.creating reciprocal agreements with other states for one of many actions possible.
Communication with the Legislature--rural schools are carrying too great of a reliance on property taxes, the taxes are too high. NE is #49 of states for State contribution to funding (while being #9 in education outcomes). The state needs to contribute more as it did in the past.

Supporting the good work already occurring in Nebraska schools.

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

Moderate, trustworthy, honest, good at bringing people together, good listenr, experienced.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Walking beans on the farm--I was 11. Held for a couple of months.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Courage to Be by Paul Tillich. It has given me a model of faith in action.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

State School Board--Listen to constiuents, establish standards and guidelines, get out of the way of local school boards--let them do their fundamental job of runnign schools, hire and monitor commissioner, oversee evaluation and assessment and ensure that local schools receive feedback in a timely and useful manner.

Who are your constituents?

Children, parents, teachers, school adminstrators, school boards-local, the public.

How would you support the diverse needs of your district’s students, faculty, staff, and community?

Lots of communication to hear the issues--specific forums before and after every State Board of Education meeting with constituents, considering the diverse needs in setting standards and guidelines. Open comment at meetings.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

Op Eds regularly in newspapers, visit schools as I have done throughout the campaign, visit classrooms, report out on these. Regular visits and zooms with D5 schools, and constituents.

What will you do to build a relationship with parents in the district? What plans do you have to be inclusive of parental involvement?

As an early childhood professional I have always advocated for parent involvement--parents are the most important teachers in their children's lives--matter the most for children's development. Openness to their comment, responsiveness to queries, public commentary.

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.

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released April 23, 2020

Helen Raikes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Raikes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Property tax relief with emphasis on growing agriculture and small business in Nebraska; maintaining strong public schools and building thriving rural communities.

Raikes grew up in rural Iowa, walked beans, detasseled, helped with haying, showed baby beef at her county fair and was an Iowa State 4-H officer. She has stayed close to agriculture and continues involvement in Raikes Family Enterprises to this day. She says, "The current property tax situation in Nebraska's leading industry-agriculture-is unconscionable. It's time for the Legislature to step up and fix this structural inequity."

Raikes is a longtime advocate for quality and equitable education. She attended a consolidated school in a small rural community and Iowa State University. "I will protect schools in rural communities and will fight for equitable and workable statutes to ensure quality education. I will be an advocate for early childhood education and career education. Higher education or find good paying jobs with benefits in the trades right out of high school is essential to keeping our communities thriving."

Helen Raikes is a retiring professor of early childhood education at the University of Nebraska. She, together with her husband, the late Senator Ron Raikes, set into motion many of Nebraska's early childhood programs. Helen and Ron Raikes are parents of three children and five grandchildren.

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?

Property Tax Relief and Agriculture
Quality Education
Thriving Rural Communities

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Revenue•Agriculture•Education•Thriving Communities

Agriculture: Agriculture employs one out of every four people in our state. Supporting Nebraska agriculture is my top priority. Low commodity prices coupled with Nebraska's high property taxes, further challenged by natural disasters and the pandemic, have created an unsustainable mix for agriculture. We need to reduce the property tax load, rebalance how schools are financed between state and local contributions, stimulate commodity markets, enlarge and diversify the infrastructure for processing agriculture products, allow new products and markets.
Thriving communities: I want to see our communities attract and retain young people to grow our workforce and economy. My Thriving Communities act allows communities decide which challenges to address, such as:
• Accessible Broadband-We need high-speed broadband accessible to every citizen in rural Nebraska.
• Healthcare-Every citizen should be covered by insurance. We need to implement Medicaid expansion approved by voters, and expand Telehealth/Telemental services.
• Childcare-With 76% of Nebraska parents of young children employed, we need quantity and quality childcare options in every community.
• Housing-I will stand up for a comprehensive and coordinated effort to establish private/public partnerships to solve the rural housing challenges.
• Other important areas: Expanding business opportunities, infrastructure and environmental quality.

Education: We m

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I admire many men and women who have done the right thing over opposition. Some are Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, my husband, Ron Raikes, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Eleanor Roosevelt. I admire their courage and integrity in order to make the world better for others.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

To listen and be present, clear thinking, honest, investigative, persuasive and reflective as an individual.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe core responsibilities are to listen to one's constituencies, consider how proposed legislation will affect them, and vote accordingly. It is important that the legislator be able to listen to one's fellow legislators and to respect those as well. One has a responsibility to take leadership for legislation that will benefit one's district and the state. Thus, one must study the issues carefully, consult, and discern the short and long term effects of his/her votes. One has a responsibility to introduce and speak, try to make improvements in bills that will help one's constituents and the state. Such responsibility does not come lightly.

What legacy would you like to leave?

The legacy I would like to leave in the Nebraska unicameral would be to truly begin to implement a futuristic vision that represents a common vision. Such a vision is possible from Blueprint Nebraska that has been developed already with input from over 7000 Nebraskans with leadership from the University of Nebraska President and Nebraska's Governor. It now requires policy makers to make laws that are consistent with the vision. I would like my legacy to provide leadership and dialogue with other senators for implementing such a great vision.

Second, I would like to have a 21st Century tax policy in place for Nebraska that is fair and equitable and yields enough revenue to meet our needs and allows for implementing the vision.
Third, I would like to find the legislative levers that would stimulate both agriculture and business economies and create the infrastructure needed for 21st Century economy.
Fourth, I would like to leave unified relations between our urban and rural and school and property contingents.

Finally, I would like to see communities that are thriving and most importantly see children and families in those communities that are thriving.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember choosing up for Eisenhower or Stevenson. It seemed like we made snowmen representing them; perhaps there was an early snowstorm in 1952. In central Iowa at the time, it seemed we all wanted to be on the Eisenhower side. I was in elementary school.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Aside from walking beans, helping with haying, short stints at detasseling corn, gardening, freezing and canning fruits and vegetables, my first for-pay job was as a wrangler at a dude ranch in Colorado. This involved clearing trails in Arapahoe National Forest, taking people on trail rides, melodramas and offering chuck wagon dinners with folk songs. I did this for 6 months during my undergraduate years.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a unicameral state legislature, in your opinion?

I believe there are more benefits than drawbacks. I am proud of Nebraska's unique unicameral. My husband was a nonpartisan in the unicameral from 1998-2008. I was able to see how he could be effective as an independent working with both Republicans and Democrats. When we visited occasional national meetings, state senators from other states expressed amazement at the lack of rancor and partisanship in Nebraska at that time. I think our legislature accomplished more than most. The unicameral requires strong senators who put the good of the state over special interests. A drawback is the lack of checks and balances and problems when partisanship and special interests dominate.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Our unique democracy seeks to have all the people represented. The Legislature should look like the population in terms of demographics and occupations. Our Unicameral could be even more representative of the population. Not all people can afford the service salary of $12,000, so some are excluded. I do not think it is necessary for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics. However, to be sure, there is a major learning curve in serving in the Legislature. One needs to be able to comprehend many issues and the issues are often intricate. Staffers help immensely. It is beneficial for state legislators to have served in some policy role previously but there are many roles that would qualify. I have worked in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and conducted policy research, including frequent Congressional and other testimonies. This experience will be beneficial for me in the legislature.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

In the next decade, it will be exciting to bring Nebraskans to a common vision, such as that already proffered by Blueprint Nebraska. So, the first challenge will be to be truly visionary and forward-focused despite short-term problems.

In the coming year and beyond, there will be large challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. By Moody's Analytics we can expect a decline in our national GDP. Current projections are that Nebraska's revenues could be reduced from 15-25%, which will force us to rely on cash reserves and federal emergency payments, which will need to prioritized. Addressing emergency needs, helping small businesses and nonprofits and getting people back to work will likely take priority, and for our major industries.
Agriculture is Nebraska's leading industry. Supporting Nebraska agriculture and our agriculturally-based communities is a top priority. Low commodity prices coupled with Nebraska's high property taxes, further challenged by natural emergencies and the effects of the pandemic, have created an unsustainable mix for agriculture. Nebraska has second highest agriculture property taxes in the nation. The tax structure needs to be remodeled and new sources of revenue are needed. We need a new balance among local property taxes, school expenses and state funding for schools. In the COVID-19 environment we will need to find new ways of economizing.

Finally, there are many opportunities and barriers for our small communities so they can thrive and attract a new generation- 21st Century broadband, health and telehealth services, childcare, affordable and accessible housing, small business expansions, roads and environmental quality. Our many issues will require steady hands, clear thinking about short and long-term goals for Nebraska, thoughtful consideration of tradeoffs, and leadership that exemplifies the best of what the nonpartisan Unicameral has to offer-true collaboration across parties and rural and urban contingencies.

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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Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on November 8, 2022
↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 330, 2020

[show]

Current members of the Nebraska State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:John Arch

Senators

District 1

Robert Hallstrom (R)

District 2

Robert Clements (R)

District 3

Victor Rountree (N)

District 4

R. von Gillern (R)

District 5

Margo Juarez (D)

District 6

Machaela Cavanaugh (D)

District 7

Dunixi Guereca (D)

District 8

Megan Hunt (N)

District 9

John Cavanaugh (D)

District 10

Wendy DeBoer (D)

District 11

Terrell McKinney (D)

District 12

Merv Riepe (R)

District 13

Ashlei Spivey (D)

District 14

John Arch (R)

District 15

Dave Wordekemper (R)

District 16

Ben Hansen (R)

District 17

Glen Meyer (R)

District 18

Christy Armendariz (R)

District 19

Rob Dover (R)

District 20

John Fredrickson (D)

District 21

Beau Ballard (R)

District 22

Mike Moser (R)

District 23

Jared Storm (R)

District 24

Jana Hughes (R)

District 25

Carolyn Bosn (R)

District 26

George Dungan (D)

District 27

Jason Prokop (D)

District 28

Jane Raybould (D)

District 29

Eliot Bostar (D)

District 30

Myron Dorn (R)

District 31

Kathleen Kauth (R)

District 32

Tom Brandt (R)

District 33

Dan Lonowski (R)

District 34

Loren Lippincott (R)

District 35

Dan Quick (D)

District 36

Rick Holdcroft (R)

District 37

Stanley Clouse (R)

District 38

Dave Murman (R)

District 39

Tony Sorrentino (R)

District 40

Barry DeKay (R)

District 41

Daniel McKeon (R)

District 42

Michael Jacobson (R)

District 43

Tanya Storer (R)

District 44

Teresa Ibach (R)

District 45

Rita Sanders (R)

District 46

Danielle Conrad (D)

District 47

Paul Strommen (R)

District 48

Brian Hardin (R)

District 49

Bob Andersen (R)

Republican Party (33)

Democratic Party (14)

Nonpartisan (2)

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on November 8, 2022

[bio-2] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 330, 2020

[1]

[2]

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Helen Raikes

Contents

Biography

Elections

2022

General election

General election for Nebraska State Board of Education District 5

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Nebraska State Board of Education District 5

2020

General election

General election for Nebraska State Senate District 23

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Nebraska State Senate District 23

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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