{"id":80415,"date":"2025-10-15T14:46:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T18:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=80415"},"modified":"2025-10-15T14:47:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T18:47:51","slug":"she-doesnt-go-looking-for-fights-but-i-will-never-back-down-from-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/she-doesnt-go-looking-for-fights-but-i-will-never-back-down-from-one\/","title":{"rendered":"She Doesn\u2019t Go Looking For Fights \u2013 \u2018But I Will Never Back Down From One\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Democratic Rep. Ruwa Romman has set her sights on becoming governor of Georgia. (Credit: Ruwa Romman Campaign)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Rep. Ruwa Romman<\/a> has worked hard on behalf of fellow Georgians<\/a> since assuming her seat in the State House in 2023. Now, she wants to do so as the state\u2019s next governor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 32-year-old Jordanian immigrant descended of Palestinian refugees made history as the first Muslim woman ever elected to the Peach State\u2019s assembly when she won her first campaign in 2022. She\u2019s kept busy ever since, introducing legislation<\/a> to promote gun safety and codify protections for immigrants and students with disabilities, among other measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romman has also advocated for those living well outside state lines, garnering national headlines when she lobbied to speak at the 2024 Democratic National Convention on behalf of the Uncommitted Movement, a group that advocated for a ceasefire in Gaza<\/a> and an end to the U.S. providing military aid to Israel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she was denied a speaking slot, she delivered the speech<\/a> outside of the convention hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will not go looking for a fight \u2013 but I will never back down from one,\u201d she told The Story Exchange during our most recent conversation. A philosophy instilled in her from a young age \u2013 moving to Georgia as a young immigrant child, and enduring bullying for her differences in her formative years, informs her work to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s the attitude she\u2019s taking into her next chapter. This past Labor Day, Romman decided to vie for the seat occupied by Gov. Brian Kemp, the Republican who first won against Stacey Abrams in a highly contested<\/a> 2018 election. Since taking office, Kemp has enacted strict abortion prohibition laws, expanded gun access and rewritten the state\u2019s voting legislation \u2013 the sort of restrictive policies Romman would see reversed, if elected.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \"Ruwa\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n For Her, Elections Aren\u2019t About Winning \u2013 They\u2019re About Building\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

Her decision to run came with its own national headlines \u2013 especially after far-right political activist Laura Loomer attacked her candidacy<\/a> because of her identity. \u201cThis is completely un-American,\u201d Loomer posted on social media. \u201cAmerica has been invaded by Muslims.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As promised, Romman did not back down from that fight, either. \u201cLaura, I know that having principles seems like a foreign concept for someone like you who\u2019ll eat dog food for money, but my selling point isn\u2019t just my identity,\u201d she replied in her own post<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s my record of fighting for those who our government keeps selling out to corporations and special interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, her campaign is more about coalition-building than quick barbs. In discussing her campaign\u2019s philosophy \u2013 and her plans to build a thriving network of volunteers throughout all of Georgia’s 159 counties \u2013 she pointed to another Muslim up-and-comer: New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who is running to be mayor of New York City. She says his success in bringing people together comes, first and foremost, from the fact that \u201cpeople are looking for elected officials who are willing to stand up for something, to say something tangible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not gonna get every single policy we\u2019re trying to pursue,\u201d she notes. \u201cBut also, what if we did? And, shouldn\u2019t we try?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before facing a Republican contender, however, Romman will have to emerge victorious in a crowded Democratic primary<\/a> that includes former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. If she’s successful, her potential GOP opponents \u2013 as Kemp has reached his term limit \u2013 include Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Attorney General Chris Carr<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If she wins, Romman has several significant goals that she\u2019d start on as soon as she\u2019s sworn in. High on her list of priorities is raising Georgia\u2019s minimum wage, which now sits at $5.15<\/a> per hour, several dollars short<\/a> of the federal minimum. She called that pay rate \u201cdraconian,\u201d adding that it\u2019s \u201cnot even a living wage \u2013 it\u2019s a starvation wage.\u201d (Experts at MIT estimate that an actual living wage in Georgia would, indeed, be closer to $24<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another critical issue on Romman\u2019s list? Healthcare access. \u201cIn Georgia, we have not expanded Medicaid, because the governor doesn\u2019t want to.\u201d Rural hospitals<\/a> are shutting down because of the revenue loss \u2013 and with recent cuts<\/a>, \u201cwe\u2019re going to see a lot more of that.\u201d For this, she has a specific proposal, inspired by similar work in California<\/a>: To take advantage of the state\u2019s great bond rating<\/a> by selling them off and using the profits to re-open hospitals and invest in medical research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feeding hungry children is another major focal point for Romman. In 2023, Kemp vetoed<\/a> a bipartisan-backed measure to secure free and lower-cost meals for school kids, while that same year spending $10 million<\/a> to buy Israeli bonds to support its military campaign against Palestine. \u201cThese sorts of priorities go to show that, when the time comes, Georgia Republicans refuse to spend money on us. But their corporate and political interests? No problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problems facing Georgians are significant because of this, Romman says. \u201cI\u2019m not a \u2018toxic positivity\u2019 kind of person. I will not be telling people that everything is fine and great.\u201d But, she added, \u201cwe really are more powerful than we\u2019re led to believe\u201d \u2013 especially when voters focus their energy on down-ballot races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of attention paid to the president, and Congress \u2013 and yes, it\u2019s very important. But the states are often forgotten,\u201d and to our collective detriment, she adds. But the more we begin to engage locally, the greater difference we can make. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach of us has the capacity to change the trajectory of our country for the better.\u201d ◼️<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \"Women-Candidates-Election-Voting-Running-for-Office\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n We Asked 5 Women Candidates: Why Should More Women Run for Office?\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Democratic Rep. Ruwa Romman of Georgia has set her sights on winning the governorship of the still-red state, because \u201cif we want change, we have to engage.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":80416,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"Democratic Rep. Ruwa Romman has set her sights on becoming governor of Georgia.","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f","date":"2025-10-15T18:46:29+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3m3avpmhbcw27","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3m3avpmhbcw27\",\"cid\":\"bafyreidb7emdqm3lmq4q3d6qrsmy44b7xmd7hkxnv4ab2wygrj6f32fl44\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreidquqbwjtpi2mvzfbw7j2grwxbae3tnezrtpzt3whya2jh5pr2rry\",\"rev\":\"3m3avpmhj4w27\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[20579,20191,20186],"class_list":["post-80415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-healthcare-access","tag-political-campaigns","tag-social-justice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDemocratic Georgia Rep. Ruwa Romman is Running for Governor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rep. 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