Lisa Ramirez' social media sucks

She's probably our best CA-40 candidate. But she needs to step this shit up.

So as we sit here, roughly a year before the midterm elections, I am fairly certain the Democrats’ best hope to pull an upset in the newly reconfigured CA-40 is by rolling with Lisa Ramirez, the kick-ass immigration attorney who (A) Lives in the district; (B) Is older than 24; (C) Doesn’t behave as if money=entitlement.

Lisa has a lot going for her. She’s connected, personable, smart, established and an able messenger to the large Latino community that exists within the new 40th. Do I think she’ll upset either Young Kim or Ken Calvert to somehow pull of a political miracle in right-leaning turf? I wouldn’t bet big dough on it. But can she? Certainly.

There is, however, a glaring problem. And it’s not a small one: In this age of social media magic, where figures like Gavin Newsom and AOC and J.B. Pritzker sparkle and shine and reach/inspire the masses, Ramirez’s digital game, well, pretty much sucks.

It just does.

Her TikTok hasn’t been updated since Halloween—and she has a paltry 219 followers. Her Instagram flock isn’t much bigger (224 followers) and is equally flat and meh. Her Facebook—yawn. And while it’s neither fun nor satisfying, in 2025 one must not merely devote themself to socials, they must establish a voice, a personality, a mojo, a digital message. This is non-negotiable.

And here’s the thing: Lisa’s pathway toward winning this race involves focusing upon immigration and, in particular, masked ICE agents roaming through Orange County, grabbing up Brown people, throwing them into unmarked vehicles and taking them away. It’s happening all over the place, and the visuals are disgusting, disturbing, jarring and grotesque.

The new CA-40 will be, oh, 20 percent Latino. Neither Young Kim nor Ken Calvert want the emphasis to be upon ICE and its increasingly unpopular operations. It’s their Kryptonite, and they know it. They hide from it, cower from it, distract from it.

Hence, Lisa Ramirez has a choice. She can pounce, and own the issue and tie Kim and Calvert toward the destruction of Latino lives and families. Or she can continue with the milquetoast social media output, and safely paddle her way toward the meek defeat of 1,000 candidates before her.