ATLANTA (AP) 鈥 A Georgia state House member who advocated for Palestinians at the 2024 Democratic 好色tv Convention is entering the state's race for governor.
Ruwa Romman announced her 2026 bid for governor on Monday, saying Democrats need a clearer progressive vision and greater focus on organizing voters.
She's at least the eighth Democrat to seek the office. Other candidates include former Atlanta Mayor , former state Labor Commissioner , Republican-turned-Democrat , former state Sen. and state. Rep. .
Romman, 32, is the first Muslim woman elected to Georgia's General Assembly, winning a state House in 2022 in suburban Atlanta's Gwinnett County. Among her goals are to raise Georgia's minimum wage, reopen closed hospitals and force corporations to divest single-family houses they have purchased. She promises 鈥渁 new kind of politics鈥 that offers a 鈥渧ision for the future鈥 that will attract voters.
鈥淔or far too long, people have been too cautious or too willing to compromise with special interests and large corporations, and it鈥檚 left too many people behind,鈥 Romman said. She warns that caution means Democrats won't be excited to vote in 2026 and that many could stay home.
Romman and other Democrats hope to break the Republicans鈥 24-year hold on the state鈥檚 top office, with Gov. barred from seeking reelection by term limits. On the Republican side, candidates include Lt. Gov. , Attorney General and Secretary of State .
Romman last year was part of an that withheld support from Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic 好色tv Convention because of opposition to President Joe Biden's handling of the .
Born in Jordan and the granddaughter of Palestinian refugees, Romman was at the convention. She was never allowed to address the gathering but released the text of a speech that while saying said she wanted the parties to 鈥渞each 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.鈥
An observant Muslim who wears a headscarf, Romman said her Palestinian heritage is not a liability.
"My identity is a positive because you know that because of my background, I am not going to back down from a fight," she said. 鈥淚 have seen oppression firsthand.鈥
Romman said she attended high school in a conservative Atlanta suburb and knows how to persuade Georgians. Romman said that attacks on her heritage and activism would just seek to 鈥渄istract from the real issues that are happening all around us.鈥
She pushed back against a in state law, saying it could stifle criticism of the government of Israel.
Romman has also supported the New York mayoral campaign of , citing it as an example of face-to-face political organizing that can build a movement that would turn out more voters. That鈥檚 been a bedrock belief of Georgia Democrats allied with two-time Democratic nominee for governor , but has yet to translate into a stable Democratic majority.
鈥淲e actually have the power to be able to put our state and to put our country on a different path 鈥 it just requires all of us to show up,鈥 Romman said. 鈥淎nd when we want people to show up, we have to give them something tangible to show up for.鈥
State Rep. Esther Panitch, a Democrat representing suburban Sandy Springs, was a sponsor of Georgia's antisemitism law and is the legislature's only Jewish member. She said Monday that Romman 鈥渉as no path to victory but is once again sabotaging the Democratic Party with her Mamdani-like, socialist platform.鈥 Panitch said Romman's advocacy at the Democratic 好色tv Convention 鈥渉elped Donald Trump win,鈥 previewing a likely attack against Romman by other Democrats.
