Ramirez's 2026 re-election is a test of whether Iowa's first Latina legislator can hold her seat in a full general election cycle. She won the April 2025 special election with a historic 79% of the vote, dramatically outperforming Kamala Harris's 65% in the same district. Her performance was part of a pattern of three consecutive Democratic overperformances in Iowa special elections that year, which Democrats cited as evidence of voter discontent with the GOP.
HD-78 covers southeast Cedar Rapids including downtown and NewBo. Iowa primary is 6/2/26, general 11/3/26. Ramirez has confirmed she is running for re-election in November 2026. No declared opponents yet. In the special election, the Iowa Democratic Party spent ~$6,000 on digital ads and mailings while Republicans reported no comparable spending for their candidate Bernie Hayes.
Key dates to watch: Primary on June 2, 2026 and General Election on November 3, 2026.