Julie Kushner

Julie Kushner grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin. Kushner's career experience includes being elected director by members of the United Auto Workers, Region 9A. She was co-chair of the Connecticut Working Families Party and served as a delegate or alternate delegate to every Democratic National Convention beginning in 1996. Her volunteer experience includes serving as a member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, a member of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, and a lifetime member of the NAACP.[1]

Senator Kushner was elected to represent District 24 in the Connecticut State Senate in 2018. During the 2019 session, she chaired the Labor & Public Employees Committee, served as vice-chair of the Environment Committee, and served as a member of the Appropriations, Education, Executive & Legislative Nominations, and Housing committees.[1]

Julie Kushner has not yet completed [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

If you are Julie Kushner, click here to fill out [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out the candidate survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete [the profile publisher]'s Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's [the profile publisher] profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 32,000 candidates have taken [the profile publisher]'s candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

Help improve [the profile publisher] - send us candidate contact info.

Julie Kushner did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Julie Kushner did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Julie Kushner did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

.survey-result {padding:10px;}

p.survey-question {font-weight:bold;}

p.survey-response {margin-left:10px;}

p.survey-response {white-space: pre-line;}

div.survey-scrollbox { height:400px; overflow:scroll; margin:20px; padding:10px; border:1px solid gray; }

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

If elected, my top three priorities would be paid family and medical leave, affordable healthcare, and defending a women's right to choose. Connecticut has waited far too long to pass paid family and medical leave, a common-sense policy that doesn't require workers to choose between their job and taking care of their families during a healthcare crisis. Particularly with attacks on healthcare and women's rights coming from Washington, we must step up at the state level to protect and expand healthcare coverage for Connecticut residents while ensuring that women's rights move forward - not backwards. Costs for prescription drugs, ensuring an adequate response to our opioid epidemic, and covering essential health benefits under the ACA will all be priorities when I'm a state senator.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm passionate about healthcare, pay equity, and public education. Healthcare costs are one of the biggest financial burdens on working families, and can be carried for generations. When I started my career, I organized secretaries at Columbia University - mostly women who were fighting for equal pay for equal work and for affordable healthcare. When I saw how these secretaries banded together to win material gains for themselves and their families. I worked my whole life fighting to advance working people. A strong public education system is the foundation of our economy and our democracy. All children, whether white, Black, or brown, deserve the same access to quality public education in our K-12 system. We are falling behind our neighboring states when it comes to education, we must prioritize universal pre-K and affordable college for our state's residents.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

First, elected officials must always exhibit honesty and integrity. Constituents and your colleagues must be able to count on your word. I pride myself, even in the most heated disagreements over policy and ideas, to be respectful and treat everyone with integrity. Elected officials should also have experience in successfully delivering results for working people - the folks who elect us deserve to know that we're going to be able to get things done for our constituents once in office. I look forward to bringing my tenacity in fighting for what's right and proven results to the state legislature.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Anyone elected to Connecticut's state senate must be responsive to the needs of their communities and their district, but our responsibilities extend beyond that. We must be voices in Hartford for the working people of our state, for the folks who can't make ends meet, who don't have affordable healthcare, are trapped in a cycle of college debt, who are working multiple jobs just to get food on the table. We must fight for the middle class and ensure that Connecticut has good jobs and that our well-educated workforce doesn't have to leave the state to begin a small business or an opportunity for advancement. State senators must be responsive to the people of Connecticut, not the greedy special interest and corporate donors. I will call upon the expertise of people in the district, and will offer opportunities for our community to be engaged and involved in a participatory democracy.

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

Right now, the starkest difference between Connecticut's House and Senate (where I'm running) is the numbers. Democrats have a slight advantage in the House, while the Senate is currently tied 18-18 between the parties. This equal split means legislation, particularly ideas like paid family and medical leave, have stalled - and haven't even been called for a vote. The seat I'm running presents a great opportunity to change the balance of power in Connecticut's State Senate and clear the way for the upper chamber to champion legislation that will help workers and families around our state.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

There's a narrative in Connecticut that wealthy folks are fleeing our state for tax havens in Florida and other southern states. The data do not bear out this narrative, there are more millionaires and more billionaires in Connecticut this year than there were last year. But some people -- millennials, and young families are leaving our state, and will continue to do so if we don't tackle the things they need by changing our public policy. Connecticut has an amazing education system and a well-educated workforce, but we're falling behind. We need to get on track with universal pre-K and affordable college. Our young people are being burdened with more college debt every year, while Connecticut refuses to invest in the vibrant cities, public transportation, and family-friendly policies like paid family and medical leave that the growing millennial group demand in the states where they choose to settle down. Why would they stay in Connecticut, when they could cross any border into Rhode Island, Massachusetts, or New York and find a state with paid family and medical leave? We must invest in our cities and our youth to build a strong Connecticut for decades to come, not just the next decade.