Ashwin Ramaswami, the first Gen Z Indian-American to run for a US state legislature, has secured the Democratic primary in Georgia. He will compete against Republican Senator Shawn Still, who was indicted along with Donald Trump for being a fake elector in 2020, in the upcoming November elections. Ramaswami highlighted the significance of this contest, calling it “the most flippable State Senate seat in Georgia.” At 23, he is not only the first Gen Z State Senator in Georgia but also the only one in the state legislature with degrees in both computer science and law.
Ramaswami is a second-generation Indian-American with expertise in software engineering, election security, and technology law and policy research. His parents emigrated from Tamil Nadu, India, to the United States in the 1990s, both working in the IT sector—his mother hailing from Chennai and his father from Coimbatore. Ramaswami attended Chinmaya Mission Balavihar during his childhood and later earned a degree in computer science from Stanford University. It was at Chinmaya that he learned Sanskrit and developed an interest in ancient texts and the Upanishads.
A Georgia native, Ramaswami has collaborated with nonprofits, startups, and small businesses to leverage technology for public benefit and job creation. In his public service career, he has worked with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on cybersecurity and election security, aiding state and local election offices in securing the 2020 and 2022 elections. Additionally, he served as a legal fellow in the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. Ramaswami has emphasized the political awareness and engagement of his Gen Z generation.
