Jessica Ramos: Relationships
Jessica Ramos's political network runs through the Queens progressive community, the labor movement, the 2018 anti-IDC wave, and a complicated relationship with Andrew Cuomo. The map below covers her key relationships, with citations to primary or strong secondary sources.
Jose Peralta
Ramos's most defining early rivalry was with incumbent State Senator Jose Peralta, whom she unseated in the 2018 Democratic primary as part of the statewide progressive campaign against IDC members 1. The race was the contest that launched her career. Peralta died in November 2018, shortly after his defeat 1.
Bill de Blasio
Ramos worked for Mayor de Blasio as Director of Latino Media and received his endorsement in her 2018 Senate race 1,2. The relationship gave her an early platform in city government and a high-profile endorsement. It reflected her place in the de Blasio-era progressive coalition.
Andrew Cuomo
Ramos's most complicated relationship is with Andrew Cuomo. She rose to prominence as part of the 2018 progressive wave that opposed politicians associated with Cuomo and the IDC 1. In June 2025, however, she endorsed Cuomo's mayoral candidacy, a reversal that drew significant scrutiny and criticism 1. The relationship's evolution from opposition to endorsement is detailed in the controversies section of this series.
The labor movement
Ramos has deep ties to the labor movement, built through her work with Build Up NYC, SSEU Local 371, and 32BJ SEIU before her Senate career, and extended through her Labor Committee chairmanship 3,4. These labor relationships are foundational to her political identity and have provided organizational and electoral support throughout her career.
Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas
Ramos's most consequential recent rival is Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, who defeated her in the 2026 Democratic primary with the backing of the Working Families Party 1,5. The contest reflected shifting alliances within the district's progressive coalition. The loss ended Ramos's Senate career.
Kirsten Gillibrand and the 2018 coalition
Ramos was endorsed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and The New York Times during her 2018 campaign, reflecting her standing within the progressive-reform coalition of that cycle 1. These endorsements connected her to a broader statewide movement that produced significant results.
Family
Ramos's closest personal relationships are with her family. She has two sons whom she co-parents with her ex-husband, and she remarried in May 2025 1. Her immigrant parents' story, including her undocumented mother and her father's detention, is central to her public identity 6.
The shape of her network
Ramos's relationships map onto her trajectory as a Queens progressive: Launched by the 2018 anti-IDC wave with de Blasio's and Gillibrand's backing, built on deep labor ties, defined by her rivalry with Peralta and her complicated evolution with Cuomo, and ended, for now, by her loss to a progressive challenger who consolidated the support she once held. The central feature is the instability of her progressive coalition, which supported her rise but fractured after her Cuomo endorsement.