Julie Rakic

Julie N. Rakic

Republican Party

Candidate, Maine State Senate District 35

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 3, 2026

Personal

Birthplace

Maine

Religion

Christian

Profession

Businesswoman

Contact

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Julie N. Rakic (Republican Party) is running for election to the Maine State Senate to represent District 35. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Biography

Julie Rakic was born in Maine. Her career experience includes working as a businesswoman, hairstylist, and realtor.

Elections

2026

See also: Maine State Senate elections, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Maine State Senate District 35

Michele Meyer (D), Deane Rykerson (D), and Julie N. Rakic (R) are running in the general election for Maine State Senate District 35 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Michele Meyer (D)
		Deane Rykerson (D)
		Julie N. Rakic (R)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Maine State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Maine State Senate District 35

Incumbent Mark Lawrence defeated Julie N. Rakic in the general election for Maine State Senate District 35 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Lawrence (D)	63.6	16,491
		Julie N. Rakic (R)	36.4	9,453

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,944
= 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for Maine State Senate District 35

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Mark Lawrence in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Mark Lawrence	100	2,552	0	Advanced (1)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,552
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Republican primary election

Republican Primary for Maine State Senate District 35

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Julie N. Rakic in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Julie N. Rakic	100	1,333	0	Advanced (1)

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,333
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Rakic in this election.

2022

See also: Maine State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Maine State Senate District 35

Incumbent Mark Lawrence defeated Julie N. Rakic in the general election for Maine State Senate District 35 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Lawrence (D)	65.0	13,979
		Julie N. Rakic (R)	35.0	7,527

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,506
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for Maine State Senate District 35

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Mark Lawrence in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Mark Lawrence	100	2,089	0	Advanced (1)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,089
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Republican primary election

Republican Primary for Maine State Senate District 35

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Julie N. Rakic in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Julie N. Rakic	100	1,017	0	Advanced (1)

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,017
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Julie N. Rakic has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Julie N. Rakic, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Julie N. Rakic did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Julie N. Rakic completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Rakic's 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.

Jules is a 10th generation Mainer and multi -generational small business owner with the experience and drive to serve the people of York County. She works in residential real estate Agent in both ME & NH. Jules has been a local owner/operator in the beauty industry for over 20 years. She’s a wife and mother of two grade school children who’s family, like many of yours, learned the value of in- person education for our kids and the amazingness of our teachers during the pandemic. As the daughter of elderly parents, she is concerned about the future of healthcare here in Maine as well as the ability of those on fixed incomes to survive the skyrocketing cost of living.

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?

• Lower taxes on individuals and businesses to help Mainer’s keep more of what they earn-especially with inflation and the rising cost of living.
• Increase the focus on technical, trade, and vocational educational programs here in Maine’s schools. Supporting more transparency between parents and their children’s schools.
• Providing quality and affordable healthcare by funding, training, and recruiting qualified healthcare professionals to Maine.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

“ I am passionate about common sense policies that support families and our workforce. Having supportive maternity/paternity leave, along with affordable daycare, pre-school and after school care could definitely be improved upon. Parents should have the choice of a school that best fits their individual child’s needs. I support returning to a classical education and also offering vocational & trade opportunities for our students. A top priority will be supporting our state’s nursing homes and senior care facilities as well as expanding our mental health care, drug and alcohol rehab centers, and law enforcement, all of which are critically understaffed. We can do better with our medical residency programs to keep our healthcare professionals in Maine. Transparency & competition in healthcare and pharmaceutical costs is a must. I believe in protecting and nurturing are most vulnerable, our children and our seniors. The workforce are the citizens taking care of these groups. We can solve many of these issues by supporting policies that promote a strong workforce. That will encourage a bustling economy and we can bring in diversity of industry and businesses, fair and low taxation, low inflation, low energy costs and the general cost of living… This will create a strong and secure workforce that will raise Maine in to innovation and advancement & most importantly, independence. Common sense policy can and will support a thriving population from the youngest to the oldest.”

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

I would recommend them to read the U.S. Constitution with Bill of Rights & Amendments. The Mayflower Compact, Common Sense, Gettysburg Address, John F Kennedy’s inaugural address and Ronald Reagan’s first inaugural address to start.

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

Honesty, integrity, moral compass, Love of country.

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

I strive to live my life by the golden rule, to treat others as I would like to be treated, and to love my neighbor as thyself.
I am a very strong at problem-solving and thinking outside of the box. I have great communication and people skills to work in groups with others. I am hard-working with a lot of energy and have a great determination and focus.

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

The core responsibility is to be the voice of the constituents that the legislator represents. It is not to work for and carry out their own personal agendas or those of special interest groups.

What legacy would you like to leave?

A legacy of service to others

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Balance. Clear communication with compromise and the will of the Maine people at the forefront. The US Constitution and Maine constitution as the backbone of all policy.

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

Population decline. We have five deaths for every birth in Maine. School and university numbers are down, there are staffing shortages in every sector. We need to promote policies that encourage growing families that will be part of our maine communities from childhood to retirement.

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

Benefit is speedily moving along policy.
Drawback is policy tends to swing too far in the dominating parties Agenda, not truly representing the will of most moderate Mainers.

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

You will often hear me say “practice makes perfect,” so of course is beneficial to have some experience or study in government. I do not believe the role of civil servant was intended to be a lifelong career with the politician full of power hunger and greed. Or fore-father’s designed for regular every day people to serve their country for a short period of time bringing in new strengths and ideas from their own neighborhoods to better the country, and then to go back to what they were doing before hand. This is not been happening for sometime now, and has led to many of the problems we are facing today.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

It is absolutely beneficial to build relationships with as many as fellow legislators as possible. America is the “great experiment” and melting pot where we bring all of our unique backgrounds, cultures and ideas together to self -govern. To be well balanced it is imperative to hear as many viewpoints and ideas as possible. Check history, as it always repeats itself, so as not to repeat mistakes. Make a list of pros and cons, and then use common sense to create a solution.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I have the same answer now as I did when I was back in middle school, Senator Olympia Snowe. She served Maine and America with great poise and integrity. She was not divisive or polarizing. She could compromise to make policy move along but stood firm her morals and platform. She gracefully retired from office when she felt like there’s no more she could do to serve the people. I believe she was a wonderful role model for a young girl like me , and I would hope and try my best to be the same kind of role model for future generations.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

I live my life day to day, and in the moment. I strive to be present with where I am at in real time. I give 110% to everything I invest myself in. My goal is to focus on the current job position as state senator for district 35. My job during that term is to represent the voice of my district focusing on fixing problems and progressing our state for the better.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Yes there are so many to choose from. A lovely mother of grown children opened up to me about how she has 2 daughters addicted to opiates and a son who is an alcoholic. They have tried unsuccessfully to recover from their addictions and are in a cycle of depression & job turnover. She has been supporting them and it has taken a toll on her own health and her own personal relationship. My heart breaks for so many families that are struggling through addiction and mental health crisis. The pandemic , lockdowns, open boarders, & tanking economy have made things even worse. I have had my own family members who are fortunate to have survived through this. As quickly as possible we need to bring in policy with real solutions to help to those who are most in need.

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

The legislator should absolutely oversee and be a part of granting the use of emergency powers in all and every circumstance. This is why we have multiple branches of government, for balance and oversight.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Compromise and respect are absolutely necessary in desirable for policymaking.

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.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Julie N. Rakic campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Maine State Senate District 35	Lost general	$48,292	$21,525
2022	Maine State Senate District 35	Lost general	$37,765	$33,378
Grand total			$86,057	$54,903
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Maine State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Matthea Daughtry

Majority Leader:Teresa Pierce

Minority Leader:Harold Stewart

Senators

District 1

Susan Bernard (R)

District 2

Harold Stewart (R)

District 3

Bradlee Farrin (R)

District 4

Stacey Guerin (R)

District 5

Russell Black (R)

District 6

Marianne Moore (R)

District 7

Nicole Grohoski (D)

District 8

Mike Tipping (D)

District 9

Joe Baldacci (D)

District 10

David Haggan (R)

District 11

Glenn Curry (D)

District 12

Anne Beebe-Center (D)

District 13

Cameron Reny (D)

District 14

Craig Hickman (D)

District 15

Richard Bradstreet (R)

District 16

Scott Cyrway (R)

District 17

Jeffrey Timberlake (R)

District 18

Richard Bennett (I)

District 19

Joseph Martin (R)

District 20

Bruce Bickford (R)

District 21

Margaret Rotundo (D)

District 22

James Libby (R)

District 23

Matthea Daughtry (D)

District 24

Denise Tepler (D)

District 25

Teresa Pierce (D)

District 26

Timothy Nangle (D)

District 27

Jill Duson (D)

District 28

Rachel Talbot Ross (D)

District 29

Anne Carney (D)

District 30

Stacy Brenner (D)

District 31

Donna Bailey (D)

District 32

Henry Ingwersen (D)

District 33

Matthew Harrington (R)

District 34

Joseph Rafferty (D)

District 35

Mark Lawrence (D)

Democratic Party (20)

Republican Party (14)

Independent (1)