Young tech engineer takes on indicted GOP lawmaker in ATL suburbs
Democrat raises big cash in bid to oust "fake elector"
Typically, one might expect to learn more about your state lawmakers through digital ads and campaign mailers as election season approaches.
But for Democrat Ashwin Ramaswami, it was while he was sitting in his law school class at Georgetown when he found himself reading pages of depositions from Republican state Sen. Shawn Still, a pool contractor from Johns Creek who is currently under indictment in Fulton County alongside former President Donald Trump and several allies for their involvement in the 2020 fake elector scheme.
Now, the 25-year-old tech engineer is challenging the Still for his suburban north Atlanta district. Ramaswami, whose campaign has raised nearly half a million dollars, says his background in election cybersecurity and coding makes him the perfect fit to take on Still, who has maintained his not-guilty plea as the case remains stalled.
“I was working with Democrats and Republicans to secure our elections across the country,” said Ramaswami of his time working with the federal government. “I saw firsthand how there are good people on both sides trying to do their jobs — and then you have Donald Trump who is trying to tear it all apart.”
Sen. Still represents the 48th Senate district, which includes parts of Gwinnett, Forsyth and North Fulton counties. Although drawn to be a Republican-leaning district, it has not been immune from the seismic shifts we have seen in suburban districts.
In just eight years, SD-48 went from being ironclad Republican to giving Trump just 51% of the vote. It also narrowly supported U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock during the Democrat’s 2022 bid for a full six-year term.
Ramaswami, who would be Georgia’s first Indian-American state senator if elected, attributes the district’s newfound competitiveness to its diversity. “Our district is not only 30 percent Asian, but it’s 15 percent South Asian.”
He adds that he is encouraged by the new enthusiasm within his community ever since Vice President Kamala Harris, who is of South Asian descent, unexpectedly vaulted to the top of the Democratic ticket.
“People across the country are starting to see themselves in their candidates,” he added. “It’s easier to relate to someone like Kamala than it is someone who is much older.”
Despite his alleged involvement in the 2020 “fake elector” plot, Sen. Still has kept a low profile during both at the Gold Dome and on the trail during his first term. With most of his campaign’s cash coming out of his own pockets, he has opted for smaller, more intimate campaign events — often with Republican Senate leaders. Just last month, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones hosted a fundraiser for Still at an Atlanta golf club.
He was named the 2023 freshman lawmaker of the year by the state chamber of commerce, having co-sponsored many of the Senate bills that eventually became law during his term. The Republican incumbent predicts that issues like the economy and public safety will be front and center when voters in his district head to the polls.
Sen. Still is also dismissing the recent Democratic ticket swap, pointing to his double-digit performance that earned him the seat two years ago. “The Democratic narrative that my district is now competitive is an outright lie,” he said. “Not a single legitimate poll supports this.”
And as for the 2020 election? Still says that voters still have “some” concerns about the security of the last election, but that most of them have moved on and are looking ahead to helping Republicans win in November.
“As am I,” he said. “Anyone campaigning on the 2020 election needs to focus on the election [59] days from now.”