A Rio Grande Valley doughnut shop was on the verge of closing. Then Donald Trump won reelection.

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EDINBURG — Tucked in a business plaza aptly located on Sugar Road, a specialty doughnut shop was on the verge of shuttering its doors last year.

The shop, with bright pink and blue walls, pink accent chairs, and neon sign that read “Don’t Stop Believing,” specializes in artisanal doughnuts such as maple bacon, strawberry shortcake and “splits” — doughnut cut in half and filled with ice cream.

Luz Ramos, the shop’s owner, named the store Papy Donuts, in honor of her father who supported their family of 11 for decades as a seasonal baker in the Rio Grande Valley. He now bakes at the shop full-time.

She opened the store in May 2022 after running a construction company with her ex-husband. As the COVID-19 pandemic prompted businesses to rely more on social media, she used platforms like Instagram to gain popularity in the community. But in August, her sales dropped, sometimes only raking in as little as $200 a day. Ramos announced to the shop's Instagram followers that Papy Donuts would be closing.

Then she tried one more "Hail Mary" shot at bringing in more people to her store: Trump-themed doughnut.

The day after Election Day, Ramos announced on Instagram she would sell doughnuts covered in red frosting with the words "Trump" in white icing for one dollar.

People flocked to her shop for the Trump doughnut.

"They were a big hit," she said. "To this day, people ask for them."

Edinburg, part of the Rio Grande Valley along the southern border, has long been considered a Democratic stronghold in Texas. However, Trump swept nearly every border county.

Her sales tripled and the store began making a profit again. It hasn’t been a total sugar high.

In response to her post, Ramos received harassing messages including death threats.

As a precaution, she joined the Edinburg Police Department's "Business Watch" program by which police officers stop by to check up on her store on occasion.

The backlash also grabbed the attention of U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, who posted a photo of herself with Ramos on social media in December, encouraging the community to support the small business.

Corporations and business leaders have long injected themselves into politics and cultural trends, hoping to capitalize on popular sentiment. Businesses often donate to political candidates and give to nonprofits. However, as national politics become more common in daily lives, the call to support or divest from companies based on politics has become more heightened. Those political battle lines extended closer to home as small businesses attached themselves to national politics.

In fact, Ramos isn’t the only Texas-based baker to have her foray into politics gain attention. The owner of a Dallas-area bakery, who has made her liberal leanings public, received harassing messages and fake orders following Trump's victory. And like Ramos, she also received a swell of support from like-minded customers.

Ramos anticipated some customers would not be happy, even though she didn't intend to antagonize anyone, she assured. In fact, before the election, she featured doughnuts that promoted both Trump and his Democratic challenger Vice President Kamala Harris. The Trump doughnuts sold better, she said.

Promoting the Trump doughnuts after the election wasn't purely a business tactic. She wanted to show her support for Trump, who she believes will be best for small businesses like hers.

She believes Trump is a good businessman and good for small businesses like hers. After Harris said she wouldn't have done anything differently than President Joe Biden did during his term.

About 99% of businesses in the U.S. are small businesses and of those, about 71% said they were more interested in the results of the 2024 election than they were of the 2020 election, according to a survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"You can just imagine the important part they play in the economy of the country," said Ruchi Gupta, a small business mentor with Service Corps of Retired Executives, a nonprofit that provides mentoring and resources to small businesses. "Therefore those policies that either will be framed by the incoming government, or by the current government, they're really very important to small businesses."

Despite the growing political interest by small business owners, Gupta said there isn't any evidence that more businesses are trying to draw in customers by taking a political stance and it is not a strategy she would advise.

"I would strongly caution against this trend because you do see this is transient," Gupta said. "Change is constant in the political environment so if they keep vocalizing their political views, I predict that there may be more polarization amongst their stakeholders."

The public's memory is short-lived, Gupta said, so while uproar from a political stance is likely to blow over, so is the wave of support.

"The bottom line is what is the product? What is it that the business is selling and how does that affect the customer?" Gupta said. "These are the intangible things and some of the tangible ones that are going to affect customer loyalty, not political opinions."

Ramos, a single-mother to a 6-year-old boy, said she wouldn’t do anything differently because she was in survival mode. She felt caught between a decision to either take a political stance or allow her business to close.

“I really did need it, and that came along, and it's been nothing but good after,” she said. “I can honestly say Trump doughnuts saved me.”

Weeks later, Ramos continues to sell out. On good days, she makes between $1,000 to $1,500 a day.

And the Trump doughnuts returned for Trump’s inauguration, which she branded as American-themed donuts. She now sells them every day.

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

Disclosure: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.