ATLANTA (Diya TV) — Georgia State Senator Nabilah Islam Parkes has launched her campaign to become the next chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia heading into a pivotal election cycle.
In a statement released Thursday, Islam Parkes said she is running to bring “strong, unflinching leadership” to the party as it prepares for the 2026 election, including the re-election campaign of U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. “We need bold leadership who won’t back down from a fight,” she said. “I will hold the GOP’s feet to the fire and fight to elect Democrats up and down the ballot.”
Islam Parkes, a first-generation Bangladeshi American, currently represents Senate District 7, which includes parts of Gwinnett County. In 2022, she became the youngest woman, the first Muslim woman, and the first South Asian woman elected to the Georgia State Senate. She currently chairs the Gwinnett Senate Delegation and has championed progressive legislation on Medicaid expansion, gun safety, and tax relief for essential goods.
Framing her bid as a continuation of Democratic gains made in recent cycles, Islam Parkes pointed to her grassroots organizing experience and deep roots in Georgia politics as key qualifications. She noted the party’s success in flipping the state for Joe Biden in 2020 and electing Ossoff and Raphael Warnock to the Senate as examples of how energized organizing and coalition-building can deliver statewide wins.
“We won in 2020 and 2022 by energizing our base while also appealing to new voters,” she said. “We can do it again.”
Her political résumé includes national and local experience. She worked as a fundraiser on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and later at the Democratic National Committee, where she helped raise millions for campaigns in the South. During the 2020 Senate runoffs, she launched “Save Our Senate,” an initiative that mobilized over 34,000 voters in Georgia, with a focus on Asian and Latino communities.
If elected, Islam Parkes said she would focus on building out the party’s infrastructure statewide — not just in urban strongholds, but in suburban and rural communities as well. “I’ll do everything I can to strengthen the party in every corner of the state — every county, every city, every precinct,” she said.
She also emphasized developing new political talent and prioritizing voter turnout, especially ahead of Ossoff’s 2026 Senate re-election campaign. “I’ve been dedicated to party building and raising up the next generation of Democratic leaders,” she said.
Islam Parkes often draws on her personal background to connect with voters. Born to working-class immigrants, she grew up in Gwinnett County and graduated from Georgia State University with the help of the HOPE scholarship, while working part-time retail jobs to support herself. Her lived experience, she says, informs her policy priorities and her focus on working- and middle-class families.
In 2024, she was nominated for EMILY’s List’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award, which recognizes women in public office making significant impacts. She is also poised to become the first woman in the Georgia Senate to give birth while serving in office.
The chair position is currently held by Congresswoman Nikema Williams, who has not announced whether she will seek another term.
If elected, Islam Parkes would be the first Muslim woman to lead the Democratic Party of Georgia.
