Ruwa Romman
Bornc. 1993
Alma mater
OccupationPolitician, consultant, volunteer, director of communications Edit this on Wikidata
Employer
Websitehttps://www.ruwa4georgia.com/ Edit this on Wikidata

Ruwa Romman (born circa 1993) is a Palestinian–American politician.[1][2][3] In 2022, she became the first Muslim woman to be elected to the Georgia State House of Representatives.[4][1][3][5]

Romman was born in Jordan and moved to the United States when she was 7.[6][7] Romman attended Oglethorpe University and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.[6] She graduated from McCourt with a Master's degree in Public Policy in 2019.[3] After graduation, she worked for Deloitte as a senior consultant.[6] Romman has been involved in local politics and civic engagement groups since 2014.[2]

In 2020, Romman co-founded the Georgia Volunteer Hub, which trained thousands of volunteers to support the Georgia Senate Runoff election.[3]

In January 2022, she announced her candidacy to become the Georgia House of Representative for District 97.[3] On May 24, 2022, Romman won the Democratic primary against Democrat JT Wu for Georgia House District 97.[7] On November 8, 2022, Romman won the general election for Georgia House District 97 against Republican John Chan, making her the first Muslim woman to be elected into the Georgia State House of Representatives.[4][1]

During her 2022 campaign, Romman was endorsed by NARAL,[8] Fair Fight,[6] the Georgia Working Families Party,[6] and the Asian-American Advocacy Fund.[6][9] Romman campaigned on expanding health care access, protecting voting rights, supporting access to abortion and helping working families.[2]

On November 22, 2022, Romman was interviewed by Journalist Peter Biello for Georgia Public Boadcasting.[10] In December 2022, Romman was interviewed by Geoff Bennett for a PBS NewsHour segment titled "How Muslim American candidates made history in the midterms" [11]

Since November 2022, Romman is part of Georgia's first formal "Legislative Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus."[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c "US midterms: Three Palestinian-Americans win seats". The New Arab. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Elassar, Alaa (November 13, 2022). "Georgia candidate makes history as first known Muslim and Palestinian woman elected to state House | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Jackson, Mariel (November 28, 2022). "McCourt alumna wins big in Georgia House race". McCourt School of Public Policy. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Salzer, James. "GOP lose a few seats, keeps control of Legislature after redistricting". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  5. ^ Mithani, Jasmine (December 12, 2022). "Why the 2022 election was historic for Muslim women's representation". The 19th. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Helfand-Rogers, Candice (May 23, 2022). "Meet the Muslim Woman Running for Office in Georgia to Inspire, Win or Lose". The Story Exchange. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Georgia State House – District 97 Democratic Primary Results | Detroit Free Press". www.freep.com. May 25, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  8. ^ "NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia Endorses Charlie Bailey for Lieutenant Governor and Slate of 19 Candidates in Key State Legislative Races". NARAL Pro-Choice America. August 30, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  9. ^ "Ruwa Romman". Asian American Advocacy Fund. September 7, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  10. ^ Biello, Peter (November 22, 2022). "Ruwa Romman feels 'huge responsibility' as first Muslim woman elected to the Georgia House". Georgia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  11. ^ "How Muslim American candidates made history in the midterms". PBS NewsHour. December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  12. ^ Moore, Rachel (November 28, 2022). "Lawmakers Announce Creation Of The First Formal Legislative Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus In Georgia History – Georgia Senate Press Office". Retrieved December 30, 2022.

External links

Members of the Georgia House of Representatives
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