Jyot Singh Wins Georgia House District 97 Seat
Democrat Singh becomes the first Sikh American and first Indian American elected to the Georgia General Assembly.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections
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Democrat Jyot Singh defeated Republican Yassin Moghazy on November 3, 2026, to win the Georgia House District 97 seat in the midterm elections. The seat became open after incumbent Democrat Ruwa Romman chose to run for the state Senate.
Why it matters
Singh's win makes him the first Sikh American and first Indian American to serve in the Georgia General Assembly, marking a first for the state's legislative body. The result fills a seat vacated by Romman's bid for higher office.
Singh won the District 97 general election on November 3, 2026, after securing 59.1% of the Democratic primary vote in May. His primary campaign raised more than $240,000 from over 770 individual donors and accepted no corporate contributions.
The players
Jyot Singh
A Democrat and Yale University 2021 graduate in global affairs who was involved in renewing Gwinnett County's E-SPLOST, which secured $1.4 billion for public schools.
Ruwa Romman
The Democratic incumbent who held the District 97 seat before deciding to run for the Georgia state Senate.
The details
Singh's campaign relied on grassroots support, making more than 10,000 voter calls and knocking on over 8,500 doors. He began and ended the campaign with events at the Guru Nanak Mission Society in Norcross.
Timeline
May 2026: Singh won the Democratic primary nomination by defeating Jacques Laurent.
November 3, 2026: Singh defeated Republican Yassin Moghazy in the general election.
Political Context
Singh's prior work on the Gwinnett County E-SPLOST renewal, which secured $1.4 billion for public schools, connects his legislative candidacy to local education funding. His win places a voice from that county's education policy debates into the Georgia General Assembly.
Singh's seat gives District 97 residents in Duluth, Peachtree Corners, Norcross and Berkeley Lake a new state representative. The change affects who votes on state legislation that applies across Georgia.
The takeaway
Singh's win shows how a grassroots, no-corporate-money campaign can carry a legislative race in a suburban Georgia district. Voters across Georgia House District 97 now have a representative who was previously active in local school funding.
Further reading
For more on how state races are decided, see Georgia Elections.
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