Marisela Ramirez

Latino voters played a decisive role in the 2026 midterm elections, sending an unequivocal message to leadership in both parties: their support is earned, not guaranteed. “We may not always march, but we are the silent majority – and that is exactly what we demonstrated on Tuesday night,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, President and CEO of Voto Latino. An analysis of voter trends by the New York Times found that Latino voters shifted 29 points toward Democrats between 2024 and 2026 – the largest movement of any major demographic group. The shift was even more pronounced among younger Latinos, who moved 43 points toward Democrats, and Latino men, who shifted 31 points. In Texas, the change was especially visible along the southern border.

In 1976, the Ramirez Pharmacy opened in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles. Appropriately located on the corner of East Cesar Chavez Ave, the pharmacy is the crowning achievement of my grandfather, Eddie Ramirez, and is in many ways physical evidence of the American dream.  But in today’s Los Angeles, we’ve seen citizens and non-citizens waving Mexican flags while torching cars, attacking police and burning US flags in protest of the Trump administration's immigration raids in the state. Protesters have looted businesses downtown and lit fires, leading to full blocks of the LA commercial district nailing plywood to their storefronts.  “Lately, since all this ruckus started with a protest, we have seen a drop in the business.