Democratic Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman on Monday launched a campaign to become the state’s next governor, setting herself up for a clash with party moderates in the 2026 election.

Romman, a liberal known for raising the establishment’s ire on Israel and other matters, joined a crowded field of Democratic contenders. The party is seeking to succeed the term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) and flip the seat blue after over two decades of Republican control.

Recommended Stories

• David Schweikert enters Arizona governor's race, opening swing House seat
• ‘You first’: Knife-wielding ad puts transgender debate at center of Oklahoma GOP Governor’s primary
• Crime victims beg Congress for action during Charlotte hearing following death of Iryna Zarutska

Romman has a history of advocating left-wing matters, including accusing Israel and Zionists of being part of an apartheid framework carrying out a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. As part of the pro-Palestinian “Uncommitted” movement, Romman was known for pressuring former Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention to adopt harsher stances on Israel last year during Harris’s campaign against President Donald Trump. The DNC refused to allow Romman and other liberal activists to speak at the event, leading to protests against Harris.

Romman framed her campaign as one that seeks “a new kind of politics” that will center on “rolling back the disastrous results of 20 years of Republican dominance and make Georgia an affordable place where everyone can belong.” Her candidacy will focus on matters such as raising Georgia’s minimum wage and ordering corporations to sell single-family homes they have purchased, the latter of which has been raised by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), who has expressed concern that large, out-of-state corporations purchasing single-family homes across Georgia are responsible for driving up rental prices for residents. However, some experts have challenged that narrative.

Romman declined to join Georgia lawmakers in backing a 2023 resolution that denounced Hamas, the terrorist organization governing Gaza. Romman also refused to back legislation in Georgia that sought to codify a definition of antisemitism into state law, arguing it could stifle free speech on college campuses.

The definition from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance says antisemitism is “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Democratic state Rep. Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of Georgia’s legislature, pushed for implementing the IHRA definition at the time.

“For anybody that didn’t think that anti-Zionism could cross into antisemitism, the rest of the world could see that it had,” Panitch said.

This week, Panitch weighed in on Romman’s gubernatorial campaign with scathing remarks to the Washington Post.

Romman “has no path to victory but is once again sabotaging the Democratic Party with her Mamdani-like, socialist platform,” Panitch said in a statement referencing the liberal lawmaker’s support for socialist Zohran Mamdani’s fight to become New York City’s next mayor. 

Romman has campaigned vigorously for Mamdani in the mayoral race, which has triggered national debate due to intraparty struggles between moderates and liberals over which factions will control Democrats’ future. Romman told City & State in June that she hopes Mamdani’s candidacy will change the calculus for traditional Democratic support for Israel.

GEOFF DUNCAN CHANGES VOTER REGISTRATION TO DEMOCRAT

Romman hails from Gwinnett County. She was first elected in 2022 to represent the deep blue district, becoming the first Muslim woman in the Georgia General Assembly and the first Palestinian American elected to public office in Georgia. Romman was born in Jordan and is the granddaughter of Palestinian immigrants.

She is at least the eighth Democrat to enter the gubernatorial race. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is viewed as the leading contender ahead of the primary, with former state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, Republican-turned-Democrat Geoff Duncan, former state Sen. Jason Esteves, and state Rep. Derrick Jackson also mounting challenges.