The Ruwa Report
The Many Can Beat the Money
The results are in! We came in first place in spite of being outspent almost 3 to 1.
In just 54 days we knocked on 5,326 doors, made tens of thousands of phone calls, and raised almost $80,000. We showed that the many can beat the money especially at the local level.
We could not have done it without you! But now, we have a runoff on June 16th. Early voting starts June 6th. If you haven’t yet, donate and sign up to volunteer.
Senate District 7 is….Special
For those who haven’t followed the race too closely, we have a bit of a complicated situation in Senate District 7. Our State Senator resigned during the legislative session in March triggering a special election. This means voters in SD7 are voting twice for the same seat. My race is for the full term. The special election is to finish out the outgoing State Senator’s term. Both races are on the same day, on the same ballot, and the boxes are on the same page of the ballot. It has created a lot of confusion.
But even more than that, it also could make the upcoming map fight during special session harder. Why? Because the special election is a jungle primary. This means Democratic and Republican candidates ran against each other. Now, the runoff is between Adrienne White and her Republican opponent. Because of how turn out is in runoffs, we could lose this seat for 6 months which would include the upcoming special session where Republicans will try to force through new maps.
So how do we fix this mess? Our team is taking Adrienne’s lit with us to every door we knock so when you sign up to volunteer with our team, you’ll also be helping defeat a Republican well before November!
Volunteer with us, and if you’re so inclined, you can use this link to chip in to both of our campaigns!
But…so many endorsements!
Yes, we received so many incredible endorsements from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Senator Bernie Sanders to State Senator Kim Jackson to Council Member Matt Myers. Even my own Congressman Hank Johnson! Just take a look!
That incredible multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition is how we got first place even though we were outspent. So why was it not a landslide? It’s because endorsements are only as powerful as our ability to tell voters about them. That requires canvassing, mail, digital, and if we can swing it, some tv. It’s why candidates end up sending so many annoying asks for money.
When we fundraise, we are paying those getting out our mailers, ads, etc. But, I am incredibly proud of what our campaign built under such difficult circumstances. I cannot thank you all enough for making all of this possible! Now let’s finish strong!
Special Session Details
In case you missed it, Governor Kemp has officially announced a Special Session for June 17th, yes the day after the runoff.
If you hadn’t been following, in the 2023-2024 legislative session the Republicans passed SB189 that included a provision to sunset the QR codes on our ballots by July 1, 2026. The problem is, they failed to come up with a transition plan and this past session failed to pass a bill to either delay the deadline or come up with a realistic transition plan. This means that starting July 1, 2026, our ballots will not meet legal requirements.
The Governor was forced to call this Special Session to fix this issue and prevent chaos in the upcoming elections. The problem is he also added in redistricting as part of the work we will be doing.
Make no mistake, this is happening because 46% of voters during this primary were not white.
It’s important to be clear about why this is happening. Make no mistake, this is happening because 46% of voters during this primary were not white.
But all hope is not lost! Redistricting just failed in South Carolina. We have a few weeks to mobilize, and we are more powerful thank we realize. So what can we do?
Email your state legislators demanding that they only fix the QR issues and not to bring up the maps.
Ask 5 other people you know to do the same.
Save the dates for at least June 17th and June 19th with more dates to come for actions.
My Bill is Law!
The first bill I ever authored was to designate EMS as an essential service. For those who don’t know, unlike law enforcement and fire, EMS is not considered essential. It’s because it is much newer than law enforcement and fire. By designating them as essential, it means they can apply for grants, get the same protections, and be given the recognition they deserve.
Even though this was truly a simple bill (less than a page long!) it took three years. The bill was originally HB1314 in 2024. It made it all the way to Senate Rules then ran out of time. This past biennial (2025-2026), I introduced it again but a Republican colleague did as well.
So, we teamed up. Somehow, again, the bill (HB154 this time) got caught in the Senate. Now it’s 2026, the bill is stagnant but no reason why. As session moved, I get news that they stripped HB154 and turned it into a bill for daylight savings!
I just could not let this simple bill not pass for a whole other year. So, after a lot of running around, we found a vehicle SB395 (a bill about THC). A vehicle means a bill where our bill language would qualify to be added onto that bill. After a lot of back and forth, we combined the sections, passed the bill, and the Governor signed it on May 11th.
This brings us to our next section. Upcoming events!
Saturday, May 30th at 10am: Join us for a canvass with Representative Akbar Ali and Commissioner Kirkland Carden
Saturdays through Thursdays: We canvass six days out of the week. It’s how we showed that the many can beat the money. Join us as we work to keep our momentum and win again!
June 6th at 2pm: We’ll be doing our monthly Peachtree Corners Huddle Town Hall at the Local Peach. Join us as we share news, provide updates, and answer any questions you have!
Closing Thoughts
If you made it this far, today’s lesson is that if Republicans want to pass a bill they will. That’s what happened with my bill. Once they decided they wanted it, it passed. That’s the reality about politics. It truly encompasses the phrase “if they wanted to they would.” It’s why I’ve never traded a vote to get ahead. The EMS bill was necessary. It had broad support. And, it passed without me ever trading a vote or compromising on the values my constituents sent me to the Capitol to uphold.