Democratic state Rep. Ruwa Romman dropped out of the race for governor Thursday and pivoted to an open Gwinnett-based state Senate seat, conceding in an interview she saw no path forward in a crowded field.
Romman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she decided to withdraw after learning well-financed outside groups were lining up behind former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and that grassroots networks she hoped to mobilize were directing their focus to other states.
“This makes building our coalition practically impossible,” she said. “We are building a movement. And to keep growing our apparatus around the state, this was our best option.”
Her exit narrows the Democratic contest, which includes Duncan, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former state Sen. Jason Esteves and former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Romman, who was first elected in 2022 to a deep-blue Gwinnett district, is the first Muslim woman in the Georgia House and the first Palestinian American elected to public office in the state.
Born in Jordan and the granddaughter of Palestinians, she emerged as a prominent voice for younger progressives during the Israeli-Hamas war, at a time of deep Democratic divisions over the conflict.
And her support for the “Leave it Blank” protest vote against then-President Joe Biden during Georgia’s 2024 presidential primary over his pro-Israel stance drew national attention.
She campaigned vigorously for Zohran Mamdani in New York, even penning an AJC editorial arguing that Democrats in Georgia could harness the same frustrations that helped him win the city’s mayoral race.
Romman entered the governor’s race last year seeking to carve out a populist lane grounded in proposals to raise the minimum wage, halt new data center projects and fight “for the people and not the corporations and billionaires.”
But she struggled to break through in polls and fundraising , lagging her rivals in both metrics, even as she said her campaign mobilized droves of volunteers tocanvass the state.
“There’s a deep hunger for someone willing to fight for them. And the most heartbreaking part of all of this is how little they want from us. They just want someone who tells them they know life is very hard and they’ll do everything we can to fix it,” she said.
Romman said she does not plan to immediately endorse another candidate. But she was blunt about one rival. She said Duncan, the party-switching ex-Republican, is her “nightmare scenario.”
Credit: AJC file photos
Credit: AJC file photos
“He can’t win and he doesn’t have crossover appeal,” she said. “If you don’t have an economic policy that puts people ahead of corporations and special interests, you won’t win in Georgia.”
Duncan dismissed the broadside, saying he’ll work with Romman and other Democrats “to take back the governor’s mansion for the first time in nearly 30 years so we can bring costs down and create a better Georgia.”
Romman plans to qualify for the state Senate seat held by Sen. Nabilah Parkes, who is running for insurance commissioner. She unveiled more than a dozen endorsements, including from U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, for her new campaign.
The move isn’t without complications. Romman previously endorsed entrepreneur Jyot Singh for the Senate seat. He is now expected to run for her House district instead.
Norcross attorney Rahul Garabadu, a Harvard-trained voting rights expert who launched his campaign last week, remains in the race. Romman said she is prepared for the new fight, which has split some Democrats under the Gold Dome.
“Nobody is guaranteed a seat. Nobody is owed a seat,” she said. “I’m going to work as hard as I can to build on the work I’ve started.”
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