Biography
Maria Jukic is the Democratic nominee in Ohio's 14th Congressional District. An attorney, small business owner and former Euclid city councilwoman, she spent more than two decades in healthcare communications and arts programs at Euclid Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic. She describes her campaign as an effort to listen and find common ground.[1][2][3]
Jukic was born in Cleveland to a Croatian-American working-class family; in her survey response she says her mother was in the UAW and her father was a draftsman.[1] She graduated from Villa Angela Academy, where she says she was class president and valedictorian.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree in American Studies from the University of Notre Dame, a master's in theology and religious studies from John Carroll University, and a law degree from Cleveland State University College of Law, and she also describes holding a Fulbright Fellowship.[1]
Jukic describes 24 years in healthcare, in marketing and public affairs at Euclid Hospital and in arts and medicine at the Cleveland Clinic; the Tribune Chronicle identified her in 2024 as senior director of arts and medicine in the Cleveland Clinic's Office of Patient Experience.[1][2] She was elected to Euclid City Council as a Democrat in November 2019, served a four-year term, and did not seek re-election in 2023.[2] She filed in March 2024 to run for the 14th District seat as an independent candidate.[2][3] She won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary with 50.7% of the vote, ahead of Bill O'Neill and Carl Setzer, and is a licensed attorney and small business owner.[1][3]
- 1.Maria Jukic · Ballotpedia Reference
- 2.Independent candidate files for Congress · Tribune Chronicle News report
- 3.Joyce cruises in congressional primary; Jukic wins Democratic vote · Chagrin Valley Today News report
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.
