Ruwa Romman, with a history of Palestinian advocacy, enters the Georgia governor's race

Audio By Carbonatix

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia state House member who advocated for Palestinians at the 2024 Democratic National Convention is entering the state's race for governor.

Ruwa Romman announced her 2026 bid for governor on Monday, saying Democrats need a clearer vision and greater focus on organizing voters.

She's at least the eighth Democrat to seek the office. Other candidates include 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, was elected to the state House in 2022 representing a district 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 “a new kind of politics” that offers a “vision for the future” that will attract 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 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’ 24-year hold on the state’s top office, with Gov. Brian Kemp barred from seeking reelection by term limits. On the Republican side, candidates include Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Romman last year was part of an uncommitted movement that withheld support from Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention because of opposition to President Joe 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.”

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. “I have seen oppression firsthand.”

She pushed back against a bill that defined antisemitism in state law, saying it could stifle criticism of the government of Israel.

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 “distract from the real issues that are happening all around us.”

She expressed confidence that a campaign focused on face-to-face political organizing could build a movement that would turn out more voters. That's been a bedrock belief of Georgia Democrats allied with two-time Democratic nominee for governor Stacey Abrams, but has yet to translate into a stable 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 said. “And when we want people to show up, we have to give them something tangible to show up for.”