Rep. Ruwa Romman ends campaign for Georgia governor in shift to state Senate bid
State Rep. Ruwa Romman is ending her run to be Georgia's next governor, shifting her focus to a soon-to-be-vacant state Senate seat.
In a video message to her supporters, Romman said that she and her team received word that what she called "dark money" would be supporting another candidate. That news, and learning that funding she was anticipating would be going to states like North Carolina and Texas, Romman said that she determined that she wouldn't have enough to build the "infrastructure necessary to fight back against that kind of spending."
Instead, Romman said that she wanted to continue her campaign by running for Georgia's State Senate District 7, which represents northeastern metro Atlanta.
Currently, Democratic Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes holds seat, but Parkes previously announced that she would be entering the race for Georgia Insurance Commissioner against Republican incumbent John King.
"We need a way to continue this work. This work should not end with one person, this work is much bigger than one person, and I believe Georgia deserves so much better," Romman said.
A local lawmaker on the national stage
Romman, 32, is the first Muslim woman elected to Georgia's General Assembly, winning a state House seat in 2022 in Gwinnett County.
Last year, the state lawmaker was part of an uncommitted movement that withheld support from Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention because of opposition to President Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Born in Jordan and the granddaughter of Palestinian refugees, Romman was proposed as a speaker at the convention. She was never allowed to address the gathering but released the text of a speech that endorsed Harris while saying said she wanted the parties 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."
Race for Georgia governor continues with one fewer candidate
With Gov. Brian Kemp term limited, Democrats are hoping to break the Republican's 24-year hold on Georgia's top office.
Currently six candidates are running in the Democratic primary: former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, Republican-turned-Democrat Geoff Duncan, former state Sen. Jason Esteves, state. Rep. Derrick Jackson, and past Olu Brown.
On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is attempting to succeed Kemp. Jones is facing Attorney General Chris Carr, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, healthcare executive Rick Jackson, real estate executive Clark Dean, and Georgia Army National Guardsman Ken Yasger in the primary.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
