Raquel Pacheco

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Raquel Pacheco

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

University of Connecticut, 1999

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Campaign Instagram

Raquel Pacheco (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Florida State Senate to represent District 36. Pacheco lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

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

Biography

Raquel Pacheco earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut in 1999.

Elections

2022

See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2022

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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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Raquel Pacheco advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida State Senate District 36.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Grieco (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Ileana Garcia advanced from the Republican primary for Florida State Senate District 36.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Raquel Pacheco completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pacheco'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.

I'm a Veteran, a mom and small business owner. I was born in Angola, lived in Portugal, and migrated to the USA when I was 10 years. I spent 20 years in the State of CT where I attended college at UCONN and served in the CT Army National Guard where I became the First Female Soldier of the Year in 1995. I opened a translation company when I was 22 years old which I still own and operate today. Over the last 18+ years I have lived in Miami Beach and I have a 9 year old son in the public school system. I am committed to protecting our democracy, standing up for women's health and reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights and protecting our environment.

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'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?

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?

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?

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?

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.

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.

See also

2022 Elections

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Government

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Newsletters

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External links

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Candidate

Florida State Senate District 36

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Florida State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Ben Albritton

Majority Leader:Jim Boyd

Senators

District 1

Don Gaetz (R)

District 2

Jay Trumbull (R)

District 3

Corey Simon (R)

District 4

Clay Yarborough (R)

District 5

Tracie Davis (D)

District 6

Jennifer Bradley (R)

District 7

Tom Leek (R)

District 8

Tom Wright (R)

District 9

Stan McClain (R)

District 10

Jason Brodeur (R)

District 11

Vacant

District 12

Colleen Burton (R)

District 13

Keith Truenow (R)

District 14

Vacant

District 15

LaVon Bracy Davis (D)

District 16

Darryl Rouson (D)

District 17

Carlos Smith (D)

District 18

Nick DiCeglie (R)

District 19

Debbie Mayfield (R)

District 20

Jim Boyd (R)

District 21

Ed Hooper (R)

District 22

Joe Gruters (R)

District 23

Daniel Burgess (R)

District 24

Mack Bernard (D)

District 25

Kristen Arrington (D)

District 26

Lori Berman (D)

District 27

Ben Albritton (R)

District 28

Kathleen Passidomo (R)

District 29

Erin Grall (R)

District 30

Tina Polsky (D)

District 31

Gayle Harrell (R)

District 32

Rosalind Osgood (D)

District 33

Jonathan Martin (R)

District 34

Shevrin Jones (D)

District 35

Barbara Sharief (D)

District 36

Ileana Garcia (R)

District 37

Jason Pizzo (N)

District 38

Alexis Calatayud (R)

District 39

Bryan Avila (R)

District 40

Ana Rodriguez (R)

Republican Party (26)

Democratic Party (11)

No Party Affiliation (1)

Vacancies (2)