Angel Ramirez (politician)
Angel Ramirez | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Iowa House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office May 13, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Sami Scheetz |
| Constituency | 78th district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1999 or 2000 (age 25–26) |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | Coe College |
Angelina Ramirez is an American politician and member of the Iowa House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, she has represented the 78th district since May 2025.[1]
Early life and education
Ramirez is from California and Arizona and is the grand daughter of Mexican immigrants.[2][3] Her father is Chicano and her mother is white.[3] She moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to study at Coe College.[4][5] She has bachelor's degrees in political science and social and criminal justice.[2][4] She was a first-generation college graduate.[2] After graduating she made Cedar Rapids her home.[6][7]
Career
Ramirez is co-founder and executive director for Our Future, a non-profit fellowship program for emerging leaders in the Cedar Rapids region.[8][9] Ramirez became a prominent social and racial justice advocate in Cedar Rapids following the murder of George Floyd by police officers in May 2020.[2][3] She is president of the board of Advocates for Social Justice, an equity-advocacy group and a peace facilitator at the Kids First Law Center, working with students at Metro High School and McKinley STEAM Academy.[6][9]
Ramirez was a legislative aide to state senator Rob Hogg and worked on Cory Booker’s 2020 presidential campaign.[6]
Iowa House of Representatives
Following the resignation of Representative Sami Scheetz on April 1, 2025, Ramirez was amongst four people seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the special election.[9] She was selected as the party's candidate at the nomination convention for Democrats in Linn County.[9][10] She was endorsed by Scheetz, Hogg, state senator Liz Bennett and several labor organizations including the Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, Hawkeye Area Labor Council and the Iowa State Education Association.[2][4] She was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives at the special election held on April 29, 2025, receiving 79% of votes.[11][12] She became the first Latina to be elected to the Iowa General Assembly.[2][5] She will serve-out Scheetz's term which expires at the end of 2026.[6] Ramirez has indicated that she will seek re-election at the November 2026 general election.[6]
References
- ^ "Legislators: Angel Ramirez". Des Moines, USA: Iowa Legislature. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Payne, Marissa (April 29, 2025). "Democrats win special election for Iowa House District 78 seat representing Cedar Rapids". The Des Moines Register. Des Moines, USA. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c Payne, Marissa (June 18, 2021). "Meet Cedar Rapids' young 'power couple' leading racial justice reform". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, USA. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c Nieland, Grace (April 29, 2025). "Angel Ramirez claims victory in Iowa House District 78 special election". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, USA. Archived from the original on May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ a b "Democrats declare victory as Angel Ramirez wins District 78 special election". KCRG-TV. Cedar Rapids, USA. April 30, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Brennan, Paul (April 30, 2025). "Democrat Angel Ramirez wins special election for Iowa House seat in a landslide". Iowa City, USA: Little Village. Archived from the original on May 4, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ Belin, Laura (April 30, 2025). "Another Democratic overperformance as Angel Ramirez wins House district 78". Bleeding Heartland. Archived from the original on May 4, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ Opsahl, Robin (April 30, 2025). "Newly elected Democrat credits victory to voter discontent with GOP". Iowa Capital Dispatch. States Newsroom. Archived from the original on May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Nieland, Grace (April 14, 2025). "Democrat Angel Ramirez to run in House District 78 special election". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, USA. Archived from the original on April 14, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ "Linn County Democrats nominate Angel Ramirez for House District 78". KCRG-TV. Cedar Rapids, USA. April 13, 2025. Archived from the original on April 15, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ "Election Night Reporting: Special Election - HD 78". Des Moines, USA: Secretary of State of Iowa. May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ Plummer, Kate; Croucher, Shane (April 30, 2025). "Democrats Win Landslide in Safe Iowa Seat, Claim 'Rebuke of Trump'". Newsweek. New York, USA. Archived from the original on May 5, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.