Kimmey Raschke Martínez (born January 17, 1974, in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

) is a politician and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

. She was a member of the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico () is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control the legislative branch of ...

from 2009 to 2012.

Early years and studies

Kimmey Raschke was born on January 17, 1974, in

. She is of

Sephardi Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

and

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

descendant. Her parents are

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

Jorge Raschke García and Isaura Martínez Rodríguez, and she has a sister: Kathryn. She studied her elementary school at the Colegio Asambleas de Dios, and finished high school at the Cristo Defensores de la Fe Academy. Raschke then obtained her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in journalism from the

Universidad del Sagrado Corazón Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (English: University of the Sacred Heart), abbreviated "USC" and often called simply Sagrado, is a private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is one of the oldest and larg ...

Professional career

Raschke has worked as producer of the radio show ''Clamor con la Juventud'' from the Clamor Broadcasting Network radio station. She also worked at the Press Office of

La Fortaleza La Fortaleza ( English: "the fortress"), also known as the ''Palacio de Santa Catalina'' (Saint Catherine's Palace), is the official residence and workplace of the governor of Puerto Rico. Located in the historic quarter of Old San Juan in the ...

during the governorship of

Pedro Rosselló Pedro Juan Rosselló González (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, an ...

. She started working as a journalist for WKAQ-Radio serving also as an editor, news manager, and moderator of her own show called ''Hola Kimmey''. In 2003, Raschke was nominated by the

Overseas Press Club The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...

to the award "News of the Moment" for her radio story titled "La Masacre de Bayamón". In 2005, she went on to work at the Press Office of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

. That same year, Mayor of San Juan,

Jorge Santini Jorge Santini Padilla (born March 11, 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician who previously served as the mayor of San Juan. State Service In 1975, Santini became a member of the United States Marines Air Cadets Corps. At present, he is lieutena ...

, recruited her to serve as Director of the Office of Social Link and Religious Affairs of the Municipality of San Juan.

Political career

As a result of her work with the Municipality of San Juan, she decided to run for Senator for the District of San Juan in 2008. She first succeeded at her

party primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

, defeating incumbent Senator Carlos Díaz. At the 2008 general elections, she was elected along with Senator

Roberto Arango Roberto Arango-Vinent is an American politician who served in the Senate of Puerto Rico from January 2005 until August 2011 representing the San Juan district for the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (NPP), which is a conservative group der ...

. Raschke was sworn in on January 2, 2009, and was selected by fellow Senator

Thomas Rivera Schatz Thomas Rivera Schatz (born June 10, 1966) is a Puerto Rican politician, legal advisor, attorney, and former prosecutor, who was the fourteenth, sixteenth and is currently the eighteenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico. He is affiliated ...

to present his nomination for the Presidency of the Senate. Raschke has presided the Commissions of Education and Family Affairs of the Senate. She has also been co-president of the Joint Commission of Internships in Education Pilar Barbosa. She has also served as vice-president of the Commissions of Tourism and Culture, as well as being a member of the Commissions of Rules and Calendar, Treasury, Public Safety, Judicial Affairs, Municipal Affairs, and the Joint Commission of the Comptroller's Special Reports. In October 2011, Raschke announced she would seek reelection to the Senate in 2012, despite not counting with the support of leaders of his party and district,

and Aníbal Vega Borges. Santini and Representative José "Nuno" López claimed that Raschke wasn't working for the needs of the district of San Juan, and that there was a lack of communication between them. In 2012, Raschke decided to run for Senator at large, but lost in the primaries of her party held on March 18. Two years later, she ran for the presidency of the New Progressive Party (PNP) in San Juan. However, she was defeated by Leo Díaz Urbina in the elections that were held on June 8, 2014. Raschke finished with 1,131 votes for 11.7%.

References

External links

Hon. Kimmey Raschke
on SenadoPR {{DEFAULTSORT:Raschke, Kimmey 1974 births Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico Living people Universidad del Sagrado Corazón alumni 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico