{"id":11604,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/rachel-henderson\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","slug":"rachel-henderson","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/rachel-henderson\/","title":{"rendered":"Rachel Henderson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I have served as state representative of Bethel, Byron, Hanover, Milton Township, Roxbury and Byron for 4 years, winning the 2022 general election, 2024 primary and 2024 general.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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1. Affordability: I believe in letting Mainers keep more of their hard-earned money by curbing irresponsible spending and tackling energy policies driving up the cost of living. 2. Child safety: I will continue fighting to hold predators of child abuse and domestic violence accountable while securing essential services for victims. 3. Bipartisan commitment: Governing requires listening. I remain committed to working across the aisle to rebuild the center.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I believe in our state. I believe it is the best place on Earth. We have abundant natural resources, beautiful mountains, rivers and lakes. Maine is filled with tough and resourceful people. I represent Mainers who find dignity in hard work, joy in raising their families, connection through community and fulfillment in building a life for themselves. It has been an honor to bring that vision, and those values to our State Capitol, and I want to continue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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What is one way Maine is on the right track? What is one way the state is on the wrong track?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Right: Maine dominates the national stage in agriculture and marine production with our world-renowned lobster and our wild blueberry industries. We are ranked as one of the safest states in the nation, ranked #1 for lowest crime rate in the country, and #2 for overall public safety. Wrong: Inflated budget. The state spending in the last 8 years has gotten completely out of hand! Almost doubled since 2018. The result has not been better roads, or schools or programs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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As one of several dozen legislators in your chamber, how would you make a measurable difference for your constituents?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I have lived and worked in our community most of my life. I know our history, what drives us and where we are going. Effective governing is more than just how you vote; it\u2019s about conduct, integrity and giving a voice to your people. When state leaders look at me they automatically think of our community, making character and conduct paramount. I will continue to me a voice for rural Mainers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Surveys show the economy is the top concern of voters. What is a specific proposal addressing Maine voters\u2019 economic anxieties that you\u2019d work to make law?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Reducing the gas tax. Maine currently imposes .30 per gallon, while the federal tax falls well below at .18 per gallon! In rural Maine it is commonplace to travel for work, school sports or general shopping. Cost of energy is a major driver on the cost of products. Maine has one of the highest energy costs in the nation. Over 60% of what you see on your electric bill is driven by policy and not corporate rates! We need a roll back of Net Energy Billing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5082,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Rachel","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"NA","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Henderson","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"NA","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":11601,"voter_guide_candidate_age":40,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"self-employed","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"","voter_guide_candidate_education":"High School","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1Zo8WlP2EuQTf-xy8d9hT5-1jmFT9DwIb","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[564],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-11604","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","vg_party-republican"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/candidate"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11605,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11604\/revisions\/11605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=11604"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=11604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}