ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia state Home member who advocated for Palestinians on the 2024 Democratic Nationwide Conference is coming into the state’s race for governor.
Ruwa Romman introduced her 2026 bid for governor on Monday, saying Democrats want a clearer progressive imaginative and prescient and higher deal with organizing voters.
She’s a minimum of the eighth Democrat to hunt the workplace. Different candidates embrace former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, Republican-turned-Democrat Geoff Duncan, former state Sen. Jason Esteves and state. Rep. Derrick Jackson.
Romman, 32, is the primary Muslim girl elected to Georgia’s Normal Meeting, profitable a state Home in 2022 in suburban Atlanta’s Gwinnett County. Amongst her objectives are to lift Georgia’s minimal wage, reopen closed hospitals and drive firms to divest single-family homes they’ve bought. She guarantees “a new kind of politics” that gives a “vision for the future” that can entice voters.
“For far too long, people have been too cautious or too willing to compromise with special interests and large corporations, and it’s left too many people behind,” Romman mentioned. She warns that warning means Democrats received’t be excited to vote in 2026 and that many may keep house.
Mike Stewart through Related Press
Romman and different Democrats hope to interrupt the Republicans’ 24-year maintain on the state’s prime workplace, with Gov. Brian Kemp barred from in search of reelection by time period limits. On the Republican facet, candidates embrace Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Legal professional Normal Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Romman final yr was a part of an uncommitted motion that withheld help from Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democratic Nationwide Conference due to opposition to President Joe Biden’s dealing with of the Israel-Hamas battle.
Born in Jordan and the granddaughter of Palestinian refugees, Romman was proposed as a speaker on the conference. She was by no means allowed to deal with the gathering however launched the textual content of a speech that endorsed Harris whereas saying mentioned she wished the events to “reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety.”
An observant Muslim who wears a scarf, Romman mentioned her Palestinian heritage isn’t a legal responsibility.
“My identity is a positive because you know that because of my background, I am not going to back down from a fight,” she mentioned. “I have seen oppression firsthand.”
Lisa Lake through Getty Photographs
Romman mentioned she attended highschool in a conservative Atlanta suburb and is aware of find out how to persuade Georgians. Romman mentioned that assaults on her heritage and activism would simply search to “distract from the real issues that are happening all around us.”
She pushed again towards a invoice that outlined antisemitism in state legislation, saying it may stifle criticism of the federal government of Israel.
Romman has additionally supported the New York mayoral marketing campaign of Zohran Mamdani, citing it for example of face-to-face political organizing that may construct a motion that will prove extra voters. That’s been a bedrock perception of Georgia Democrats allied with two-time Democratic nominee for governor Stacey Abrams, however has but to translate right into a secure Democratic majority.
“We actually have the power to be able to put our state and to put our country on a different path — it just requires all of us to show up,” Romman mentioned. “And when we want people to show up, we have to give them something tangible to show up for.”
State Rep. Esther Panitch, a Democrat representing suburban Sandy Springs, was a sponsor of Georgia’s antisemitism legislation and is the legislature’s solely Jewish member. She mentioned Monday that Romman “has no path to victory but is once again sabotaging the Democratic Party with her Mamdani-like, socialist platform.” Panitch mentioned Romman’s advocacy on the Democratic Nationwide Conference “helped Donald Trump win,” previewing a probable assault towards Romman by different Democrats.
