Maria Jukic is an attorney, former Euclid City Councilwoman, and 24-year Cleveland Clinic healthcare administrator running for Congress in Ohio’s 14th District

Maria Jukic is a daughter of Northeast Ohio, raised in a working-class neighborhood in a Croatian, union family. They taught her to work hard, play by the rules, and care for your community. She is a University of Notre Dame graduate, attorney, single mom, Fulbright Fellow, former Euclid City Councilwoman, and was a healthcare administrator at Cleveland Clinic for 24 years. Maria is running for Congress because working families deserve more than political performance — and because too many people in Ohio’s 14th District are doing everything right and still falling behind. We deserve a representative who wants to bring people together, listen, and find common ground.

Maria Jukic is running for Congress because working families deserve more than political performance — and because too many people in Ohio’s 14th District are doing everything right and still falling behind. We deserve a representative who wants to bring people together, listen, and find common ground.

Daughter of Northeast Ohio
Maria grew up in a working-class Cleveland neighborhood, raised in a large immigrant Croatian family that had escaped communist Yugoslavia for the promise of America. Her mother was a proud UAW member, sewing seat covers for General Motors. Her father helped design X-ray and MRI imaging systems.

A Girl Scout with a paper route and a hunger for learning, Maria was honored as high school valedictorian, graduated from the University of Notre Dame, became a Fulbright Fellow, an attorney, a city councilwoman, and a healthcare administrator with 24 years at Cleveland Clinic.

Witness of War
Maria’s commitment to human rights was forged on the front lines. A Fulbright Fellow in Croatia during the war, she also translated for foreign journalists and worked for international aid organizations. Most profoundly, she served as a translator for human rights groups interviewing men released from concentration camps in Bosnia.

She witnessed firsthand what happens when governments fail to protect human dignity — and what resilience looks like when ordinary people are forced to endure the unimaginable. She carried those lessons home.

Force of nature

Her path hasn’t always been easy. She has faced the reality of the modern economy, including layoffs. At age 35, as a divorced single mother, she balanced part-time work with full-time law school at Cleveland State and graduated with honors. Her thirst for understanding didn’t stop there — she later earned a Master’s in Theology and Religious Studies from John Carroll University in 2022.

It’s with that same determination that Maria entered the race for Ohio’s 14th Congressional District — not because politics fascinated her, but because the system is broken, people are struggling, and Washington is looking away.

In the May primary, she swept all six counties in Ohio’s 14th District, defeating two strong opponents. Not because she had the most money. But because her authenticity is contagious.

That’s what she’s bringing to Congress. The real thing — a woman forged by hard work, driven by service, proven by results, and genuinely built to win.

She is ready to take our shared values to Washington and fight for the middle ground that brings us all together.

Name: Maria Jukic
Office Sought: U.S. House of Representatives, Ohio’s 14th Congressional District
Party: Democrat
Hometown/Roots: Northeast Ohio

Professional Background

• Attorney
• Former Euclid City Councilwoman
• Fulbright Fellow
• Healthcare administrator at Cleveland Clinic for 24 years

Education

• University of Notre Dame — Bachelor’s Degree in American Studies
• Cleveland State University — Juris Doctor, graduated with honors
• John Carroll University — Master’s Degree in Theology and Religious Studies (2022)

Personal Background

• Single mother
• Daughter of a Croatian immigrant family
• Raised in a working-class Cleveland neighborhood
• Her mother was a proud UAW member, sewing seat covers for General Motors.
• Her father helped design X-ray and MRI imaging systems.

Public Service

• Served four years on Euclid City Council
• Ran as an Independent candidate for Ohio’s 14th Congressional District in 2024
• Won the 2026 Democratic primary across all six counties in Ohio’s 14th District

Campaign Focus

• Unchecked data center growth
• Healthcare affordability and access
• Lowering costs for working families
• Protecting Social Security and Medicare
• Campaign Finance Reform
• Bringing people together across political divides

Campaign Message

“A Voice for the Massive Middle.”
“If nothing changes, nothing changes.”