PhD Candidate · UCLA Political Science

Emily Ortiz

My dissertation evaluates the seeming puzzle of how Latino Republicans are able to maintain a strong sense of ethnic identity while supporting a party that has explicitly targeted their co-ethnics.

I argue that Latino Republicans use a psychological maintenance strategy where they rely on partisans cues for judging what "good" or legitimate Latino group membership entails. Latino Republicans remain embedded in their communities and proud of their heritage, but the radius of their group-based obligation shifts depending on their partisan lens. I term this process ethnic redefinition.

I test this theory using panel survey data and an original vignette experiment. While I develop the argument in the context of Latino politics, the theory speaks to a broader dynamic in polarized democracies: partisanship increasingly structures not just political preferences, but the boundaries of social groups themselves by shifting who belongs, and who deserves solidarity.

Outside of research you can usually find me working on a new crocheting project, experimenting with funky nail art, or finding a new craft to fixate on!

Race & Ethnic Politics American Politics Latino Politics Political Psychology
Advisor Efrén Pérez
Office Bunche Hall, UCLA

Research

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Right-Wing Shift? Authoritarianism, Social Dominance, and System Justification Among People of Color Before and After 2024’s Election.

Ortiz, Emily, Ramona Alhambra, Andrew M. Engelhardt, and Efrén Pérez.

Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics· 2026. FirstView

Shared Discrimination’s Effect on Solidarity Between People of Color Is Uniform Across Major Racial, Political, and Social Differences.

Rogbeer, Kasheena G., Emily N. Ortiz, and Efrén Pérez.

Journal of Experimental Politics · 2026. FirstView

New tree, growing forest: Updating meta-analytic evidence on solidarity between US people of color through an extension and partial replication

Alhambra, R., Ortiz, E., Pérez, E., Huynh, T., Bany-Mohammed, H., Rad, K., & Crawford, N.

Research & Politics · 12(2) · 2025

Rage against the machine? Why system justification drives (some) Asian Americans to spurn racial solidarity

Pérez, E., Rogbeer, K., Tran, S., Huynh, T., Ortiz, E., Crossley, H., & Passananti, M.

Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics · 2025 · pp. 1–22

Under Review

Benefit or Backlash? Examining the Consequences of Expanding Definitions of Prejudice

With Josh Goetz, Ananya Hariharan, Connor Warshauer, Clayton Becker, and Grant Baldwin · UCLA Department of Political Science

Manuscript under review

All Aboard? Solidarity Between People of Color and the Validated Votes of Black, Latino, and Asian Adults.

With Efrén Pérez, Kasheena Rogbeer, and Andrew Engelhardt · UCLA Department of Political Science

Manuscript under review

Working Papers

Republican and Latino: How Partisanship Reshapes Ethnic Identity in a Polarizing Era

Emily Ortiz. & Efrén Pérez.

Working paper

Teaching

M181B · Latinx Politics
Teaching Assistant · Drs. Izul de la Vega & Matt Barreto
Fall 2023 · Winter 2024 · Fall 2024
M183 / M36C · Experiments in Race & Ethnic Politics
Teaching Assistant · Cross-listed Political Science & Psychology · Dr. Efrén Pérez
Spring 2024 · Spring 2026
M141A · Political Psychology
Teaching Assistant · Cross-listed Political Science & Psychology · Dr. Efrén Pérez
Spring 2025
PS40 · Introduction to American Politics
Teaching Assistant · Dr. Julia Payson
Fall 2025
PS10 · Introduction to Political Theory
Teaching Assistant · Dr. John Branstetter
Winter 2026
Cluster Program GE60 · America in Sixties: Politics, Society, and Culture, 1954 to 1974
Teaching Assistant
Fall 2026, Winter 2027
Summer Institute PS40 · Introduction to American Politics
Instructor of Record
Summer 2026

Grants & Fellowships

Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship

UCLA · 2022–2023, reinstated at candidacy

$30,000 + fees

Initiative to Study Hate (ISH) Grant

UCLA · Joint grant · July 2024

$25,000

Summer Mentored Research Fellowship

UCLA · Summer 2024

$6,000

Luskin Center for History & Policy Grant

UCLA · Joint grant · Fall 2024

$3,000

Alan D. Leve Research & Travel Grant

UCLA · Spring 2025

$3,000

Political Psychology Fellowship

Spring 2026

$2,000

Other Relevant Research Experience

Race, Ethnicity, Politics, and Society (REPS) Lab Manager
UCLA under Dr. Efren Perez
Fall 2024 - current
Research Assistant on Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (CMPS)
UCLA under Dr. Lorrie Frasure and Dr. Natalie Masuoka
Fall 2024 - Fall 2025

Contact

Get in touch

Email enortiz@ucla.edu
Office Bunche Hall
UCLA, Los Angeles CA 90095
Department Political Science, UCLA

Curriculum Vitae

Download a full copy of my CV including publications, teaching, grants, and technical skills.

Download CV (PDF)