Jessica Ramos: Biography
Jessica Ramos is an American Democratic politician who has represented the 13th District in the New York State Senate since 2019, covering the Queens neighborhoods of Corona, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, and parts of Astoria and Woodside.
The daughter of Colombian immigrants, she chairs the Senate Labor Committee and has built her career around workers' rights, immigrant advocacy, and progressive reform, unseating a former member of the Independent Democratic Conference in 2018. This biography covers her origins, education, career, and rise, with citations to primary or strong secondary sources.
Early life and family
Jessica Ramos was born on June 27, 1985, at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, New York, and was raised in Astoria 1,2.
Jessica Ramos was born on June 27, 1985, at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, New York, and was raised in Astoria 1,2. She is the first American-born member of her family, the daughter of Colombian immigrants 3. Her mother crossed the Mexican border alone at age 24 as an undocumented immigrant and worked as a seamstress; her father was a printing pressman who was arrested in a workplace immigration raid in the early 1980s and spent days in a detention center 3,4. This deeply personal immigrant story is central to her political identity and her advocacy for immigrant communities.
Education
Ramos attended Queens public schools and later attended Hofstra University, where she studied international business 5,6.
Ramos attended Queens public schools and later attended Hofstra University, where she studied international business 5,6. Her academic background preceded a career in labor organizing and government.
Early career and labor advocacy
Before entering the Senate, Ramos worked with labor organizations including Build Up NYC, SSEU Local 371, and 32BJ SEIU, helping construction workers, hotel staff, office cleaners, and public-school cleaners win contracts that protected their rights, wages, and benefits 4,7.
Before entering the Senate, Ramos worked with labor organizations including Build Up NYC, SSEU Local 371, and 32BJ SEIU, helping construction workers, hotel staff, office cleaners, and public-school cleaners win contracts that protected their rights, wages, and benefits 4,7. She also served as Director of Latino Media for the New York City Mayor's Office under Bill de Blasio, connecting immigrant and working-class communities to city services 8. Her labor and government experience built the foundation for her political career.
Community engagement
Ramos was deeply embedded in Queens civic life before her Senate run.
Ramos was deeply embedded in Queens civic life before her Senate run. She served on Queens Community Board 3, was elected Democratic District Leader in the 39th Assembly District from 2010 to 2014, sat on the boards of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group and Farmspot (the community's CSA program), and was elected president of the NYC Colombian Liberal Youth Council in 2002 and the NYC Colombian Liberal Party in 2005 3,4. She has received awards for her advocacy for the LGBTQ community and for women- and minority-owned businesses 4.
Personal life
Ramos has two sons, whom she co-parents with her ex-husband; they divorced, with the process beginning in 2019 1.
Ramos has two sons, whom she co-parents with her ex-husband; they divorced, with the process beginning in 2019 1. She remarried in May 2025 1. She lives in Jackson Heights and is a lifelong public-transit rider who has never held a driver's license 1. Net worth and religion were not reliably established in the research underlying this piece.
Election to the State Senate
In 2018, Ramos challenged incumbent State Senator Jose Peralta, a former member of the Independent Democratic Conference, in the Democratic primary 1.
In 2018, Ramos challenged incumbent State Senator Jose Peralta, a former member of the Independent Democratic Conference, in the Democratic primary 1. She campaigned as a progressive who would champion immigrant and workers' rights and help unseat a senator who had caucused with Republicans. She won the primary and the general election, endorsed by Mayor de Blasio, The New York Times, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand 1. Her victory was part of a progressive wave that swept out IDC members across the state. She was re-elected in 2020, 2022, and 2024 9. Her elections are detailed in the campaigns section of this series.
Senate Labor Committee chair
As chair of the Senate Labor Committee, Ramos has made workers' rights the centerpiece of her legislative work.
As chair of the Senate Labor Committee, Ramos has made workers' rights the centerpiece of her legislative work. She helped raise New York's minimum wage and index it to inflation, authored prevailing-wage expansion and wage-theft enforcement laws, and championed $2.1 billion in pandemic-era funding for excluded workers 8,7. She has passed 52 laws during her tenure 7. Her legislative record is detailed in the legislative section of this series.
The 2025 mayoral race
In September 2024, Ramos announced a campaign for mayor of New York City 1.
In September 2024, Ramos announced a campaign for mayor of New York City 1. The race took an unexpected turn when, on June 6, 2025, she endorsed former Governor Andrew Cuomo, a figure she had previously criticized, while remaining on the ballot herself 1. She placed ninth in the first round of ranked-choice voting 1. The episode is detailed in the campaigns and controversies sections of this series.
The 2026 primary loss
Ramos was defeated for re-election to the State Senate in the 2026 Democratic primary, losing to Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas 1.
Ramos was defeated for re-election to the State Senate in the 2026 Democratic primary, losing to Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas 1. The loss ended her Senate tenure after four terms. The race is detailed in the campaigns section of this series.
Place in New York politics
Jessica Ramos's biography is that of a daughter of Colombian immigrants who rose from labor organizing and community engagement in Queens to the State Senate, where she became a leading voice for workers' rights and immigrant communities.
Jessica Ramos's biography is that of a daughter of Colombian immigrants who rose from labor organizing and community engagement in Queens to the State Senate, where she became a leading voice for workers' rights and immigrant communities. Her career arc, from the 2018 progressive wave through the Labor Committee chairmanship to a mayoral bid and a primary loss, reflects the turbulent dynamics of progressive Queens politics, as explored across the other sections of this series.