State Rep. Ruwa Romman (D-Duluth) stopped by downtown Norcross on June 24 to share the latest updates after this month’s special legislative session and answer constituents’ questions about her run for Georgia’s 7th Senate District.
Romman, who currently represents the state’s 97th House District, is fresh off a Democratic primary victory over Rahul Garabadu for one of Gwinnett County’s state Senate districts. She briefly ran for governor in this cycle, but withdrew before the primary to pursue a state Senate seat.
Romman is a graduate of South Forsyth High School, Oglethorpe University, and Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy. She regularly speaks to Norcross PDC, a group of residents that meets once a week on Wednesday mornings.
“This is one of the few places where I’ve noticed people come from all over the political spectrum,” Romman said about Norcross. “You’ve got center, right, left, you name it.”
Romman, 33, made history in 2022 as the first Muslim woman elected to the Georgia State House and the first Palestinian American elected to any office in the state, according to her campaign website. She was born in Amman, Jordan, and moved to Georgia with her family when she was 8.
Confusing state districts and elections
Romman is running for a vacated state Senate seat after former state Sen. Nabilah Parkes stepped down to run for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. Democrat Adrienne White defeated Republican Aizaz Shaikh in a June 16 special election to finish the remainder of Parkes’ term this year.
Georgia’s 7th Senate District includes parts of Peachtree Corners and Norcross, Suwanee, Berkeley Lake, and Duluth. This November, Romman faces Shaikh.
Meanwhile, this November’s general election for Georgia’s 97th House District is between Jyot Singh (D-Norcross) and Yassin Moghazy (R-Peachtree Corners).
In her post-special session recap, Romman said the deadline to phase out QR codes on ballots has been extended, removing any implementation issues this election cycle.
“This has been an ongoing conversation for six years at this point, and there have been several opportunities for us to fund new systems,” she said.
Romman also said she thinks it’s a good thing that Republicans in the Georgia General Assembly scrapped plans for a mid-decade redistricting. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled racial gerrymandering to be unconstitutional in Louisiana v. Callais earlier this year.
“The census happened in 2020, we’re now in 2026, and a lot of communities are different,” Romman said. “The other piece of it that I don’t think is talked about often enough is the constituent services portion. There are people that I’m currently helping fix things for.”
Romman and her platform
Romman said she won her primary by advocating for more affordable housing and against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the proliferation of data centers.
“Obviously, for this cohort of people, it’s not a concern for them,” Romman said, referencing ICE activity in immigrant communities. “But in the majority of the rest of my district, that has been a massive concern.”
Romman said if Georgians want to see policies changed, including expanded access to subsidized healthcare, they need to challenge the state’s power dynamics.
“The question I just had was about healthcare,” Romman said. “‘Why can’t we fix this in Georgia when other states are figuring it out?’ It’s a very basic answer: it’s because we’ve had Republican state leadership for 30 years.”
Georgia has not fully expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Instead, it offers coverage to enrollees with incomes at or below the federal poverty level who work or do community service for at least 80 hours a month.
Contentious politics?
Romman discussed state Sen. Greg Dolezal’s Republican primary campaign for lieutenant governor, which has been criticized by politicians in both parties as Islamophobic. Dolezal is running against state Sen. Josh McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs) this November.
“He unfortunately won his primary off of inciting anti-Muslim bigotry,” Romman said. “You can actually see that. The tone of the comments on my social media has absolutely ratcheted up.”
With today’s internet and social media, ethnic and religious groups are exposed to anonymous accounts spreading hate.
“I’ve seen some people say some really awful things about me and my faith that are 100% untrue,” Romman said. “That’s why I’ve taken a position. I’m not going to validate him with a response.”
