Nabilah Islam Parkes

Nabilah Islam Parkes

Democratic Party

Georgia State Senate District 7

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Predecessor

Tyler Harper

Compensation

Base salary

$24,341.64/year

Per diem

$247/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Georgia State University, 2012

Personal

Birthplace

Atlanta, Ga.

Religion

Muslim

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Nabilah Islam Parkes (Democratic Party) is a member of the Georgia State Senate, representing District 7. She assumed office on January 9, 2023. Her current term ends on January 11, 2027.

Islam Parkes (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Georgia State Senate to represent District 7. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Islam Parkes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Nabilah Islam Parkes was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and lives in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Islam earned a B.B.A. in marketing from Georgia State University in 2012. Her career experience includes founding and owning NAI Consulting.

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Islam Parkes was assigned to the following committees:

• Government Oversight Committee
• Senate Science and Technology Committee
• State Institutions and Property Committee
• Veterans, Military and Homeland Security Committee

Elections

2024

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 7

Incumbent Nabilah Islam Parkes defeated J. Gregory Howard in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 7 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nabilah Islam Parkes (D)	55.0	46,748
	Submit photo	J. Gregory Howard (R)	45.0	38,222

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 84,970
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Georgia State Senate District 7

J. Gregory Howard defeated Fred Clayton in the Republican primary runoff for Georgia State Senate District 7 on June 18, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	J. Gregory Howard	61.6	1,349
		Fred Clayton	38.4	841

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,190
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 7

Incumbent Nabilah Islam Parkes advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 7 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nabilah Islam Parkes	100.0	6,915

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,915
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 7

J. Gregory Howard and Fred Clayton advanced to a runoff. They defeated Clara Richardson-Olguin and Louis Ligon in the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 7 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	J. Gregory Howard	34.6	2,017
✔		Fred Clayton	30.2	1,761
		Clara Richardson-Olguin	24.3	1,416
		Louis Ligon	10.9	633

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,827
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Islam Parkes's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Islam Parkes in this election.

2022

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 7

Nabilah Islam Parkes defeated Josh McKay in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 7 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nabilah Islam Parkes (D)	52.8	32,665
		Josh McKay (R)	47.2	29,148

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 61,813
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 7

Nabilah Islam Parkes defeated Beth Moore in the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 7 on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nabilah Islam Parkes	50.3	5,745
		Beth Moore	49.7	5,668

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,413
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 7

Josh McKay defeated Bill Sandman in the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 7 on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh McKay	65.6	8,407
	Submit photo	Bill Sandman	34.4	4,408

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,815
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Islam's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

2020

See also: Georgia's 7th Congressional District election, 2020

Georgia's 7th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 9 Republican primary)

Georgia's 7th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 9 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Georgia District 7

Carolyn Bourdeaux defeated Rich McCormick in the general election for U.S. House Georgia District 7 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Carolyn Bourdeaux (D)	51.4	190,900
		Rich McCormick (R)	48.6	180,564

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 371,464
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 7

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 7 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Carolyn Bourdeaux	52.8	44,710
		Brenda Lopez Romero	12.4	10,497
		Nabilah Islam Parkes	12.3	10,447
		Rashid Malik	8.0	6,780
		John Eaves	7.7	6,548
		Zahra Karinshak	6.8	5,729

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 84,711
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Marqus Cole (D)
• David Kim (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 7

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 7 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rich McCormick	55.1	35,280
		Renee Unterman	17.4	11,143
		Mark Gonsalves	7.2	4,640
		Lynne Homrich	7.1	4,567
		Eugene Yu	6.0	3,856
		Lisa Babbage	5.2	3,336
		Zachary Kennemore	1.9	1,195

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 64,017
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ben Bullock (R)
• Harrison Floyd (R)
• Lerah Lee (R)
• Jacqueline Tseng (R)

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Nabilah Islam Parkes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Islam Parkes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Growing up the daughter of working-class immigrants in Gwinnett County, I watched my parents working hard to put food on the table. When my mother was injured at her warehouse job, I saw how our broken healthcare system lets families down. Ever since, I’ve been a staunch advocate for improving healthcare. As your Senator, I’ve fought for lowering the cost of raising a family as well as for fundamental freedoms like abortion rights. I passed a bill to protect our National Guard, and I’ve stood up for veterans. I’m proud to be the youngest woman ever elected to Georgia’s Senate. This year, I will become the first woman to give birth while serving.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Improving the lives of Georgia families is always top priority. That includes lowering housing costs, improving public schools, reducing taxes for working families, and supporting our small businesses.
• Lowering the cost of healthcare is also crucial. In 2023, I co sponsored a bill to expand Medicaid to ensure 400,000 more Georgians are able to receive the health care they deserve. This year Senate Democrats worked tirelessly to get a committee hearing on expanding Medicaid for the first time in 14 years. I won’t stop fighting to make sure vulnerable Georgians have access to healthcare.
• Protecting our fundamental freedoms, like the right to an abortion, the right to birth control, the right to vote, and the right to be safe from gun violence.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Expanding Medicaid, defending the right to an abortion, public schools, lowering costs for families, gun safety, voting rights, criminal justice reform and LGBTQ+ rights.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

As the daughter of working-class immigrants from Bangladesh, I watched my parents work long hours and often multiple jobs just for ends to not always meet. I am proud of my upbringing as it taught me grit and empathy. These are qualities that I bring with me to the state Senate every day. In addition my work as a former staffer in local government has given me crucial insight in how to be an effective elected official that delivers results.

What committees interest you?

During my first session, I served on several important committees including Government Oversight, Science and Technology, State Institutions and Properties, and Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security. I was also proud to be elected Vice Chair of the Gwinnett County Senate delegation.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Nabilah Islam Parkes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Islam Parkes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Raised right here in Gwinnett County, Nabilah Islam is a lifelong fighter, organizer, and community advocate dedicated to advancing Democratic causes and values. As the daughter of working-class immigrants from Bangladesh, Nabilah watched her parents work long hours to put food on the table. When she was in high school, her mother was injured at the warehouse she worked as an order puller. Nabilah saw firsthand the devastating effects our broken healthcare system can have on families. Since that moment, Nabilah has been a staunch advocate fighting for quality healthcare access and Medicaid expansion.

In 2020, Nabilah served as a Senior Advisor to the Gwinnett Democratic Party. During the critical Senate runoffs, Nabilah led an organization called Save Our Senate, which knocked on over 34,000 doors, turning out Black and Brown voters across Gwinnett for Senators Ossoff and Warnock. At the national level, Nabilah worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Campaign and later at the Democratic National Committee. At the DNC, she helped raise millions of dollars that were sent back down to states across the South, flipping dozens of seats up and down the ballot in 2018.

Now, Nabilah is running because of the urgency of this moment in which we have to protect our voting rights, fully fund our schools, reverse the extreme GOP abortion ban, and expand healthcare.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Protecting Abortion Rights
• Increasing Teacher Pay
• Keeping Our Communities Safe

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Healthcare and Education are the areas that I am passionate about. We need to expand healthcare access. Every American should have access to affordable, quality healthcare. Republicans in the state legislature have refused to expand Medicaid due to petty, partisan politics – leaving billions in federal funding on the table and hundreds of thousands of Georgians without care.I strongly believe that every single Georgian is entitled to quality, affordable healthcare. I will fight to lower drug costs, make healthcare more affordable, fully fund our public health agencies, and expand Medicaid.

We need to fully fund our public schools. The public schools are why they raised me in Gwinnett. Every child deserves a high-quality public education. I will never back down from fully funding our schools and fighting to make sure that every child can have the best education possible regardless of their neighborhood or their parent's income.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Nabilah Islam Parkes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Islam Parkes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Nabilah Islam is a 30-year-old Bangladeshi American and proud progressive running to fix our broken healthcare system, end student debt, and fight for immigrants and working people. The daughter of working-class immigrants, Nabilah grew up watching her parents live paycheck to paycheck and work long hours to get by. In high school, Nabilah's mother herniated two discs working in a warehouse-and when the insurance company refused to cover her care, Nabilah helped her family navigate the legal process and force the insurers to pay. A proud graduate of Gwinnett County Public Schools, Nabilah's first jobs were at the Ingles Grocery Store and the Walmart in Lawrenceville. She is a Central Gwinnett High School graduate. Nabilah worked her way through Georgia State University at a retail store in Peachtree Corners, and after graduation, began working for local progressive candidates in Georgia. Like millions of Americans, Nabilah owes nearly $30,000 in student loans-and like nearly 20 percent of her district, she has no health insurance. Nabilah's running for Congress because she knows, firsthand, that incremental change doesn't work. Georgia's 7th needs bold, progressive solutions: Medicare for All, student loan forgiveness, and an economy that actually works for working people.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am running to make sure everyone in our district has healthcare. Healthcare is a fundamental human right and cost should never prevent someone from seeking.
• I am running to make sure working people making living wages. Growing up I watched my parents struggling to make ends meet, no one should live to paycheck to paycheck struggling to survive in this working class district. An honest days worth of work deserves an honest days worth of pay. One job should be enough.
• I am running to end systemic racism in our immigration and criminal justice system. Gwinnett County has the deportation rates in the state and one the largest pre-trial detention centers in the country all because people cannot afford cash bail. We need to end archaic immigration policies that separate families instead of uniting them and end cash bail which prevents so many from being with their loved ones.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

We need to do more than fix the broken ACA that's been gutted by Donald Trump and the GOP and we must do more than expand Medicaid. Individuals should never fall between the coverage gap and income should not preclude you from quality care. We need a universal healthcare system that affords every single American basic, comprehensive, quality coverage. Regardless of age, gender, or whether you have a pre-existing condition or not.

When I am elected to be your next Congresswoman, I vow to work tirelessly, to make sure every single person in this district has healthcare and promise to sign any piece of legislation that would expand coverage to this district and Americans everywhere. I will not stop until all 135,000 in this district and all Americans are covered.

We need a living wage. Wages have not increased since 2009 and our buying power decreases every year. $20 worth of groceries in 2009 costs more than $30 today and wages remain stagnant. In GA-07 the median rent is $1244. That means if you're renting a one bedroom apartment and making minimum wage you are about $100 short every month on your rent.

When I'm in Congress, I will fight to ensure a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in this country. That means reinstating and strengthening DACA, DAPA, and TPS orders immediately. We have to stop deporting immigrants who have been in our country for decades without incident, and instead focus on resettlement programs.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity- Be Your Word.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

---

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

---

Nabilah Islam Parkes campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Georgia State Senate District 7	Won general	$319,104	$304,464
2022	Georgia State Senate District 7	Won general	$436,579	$0
2020	U.S. House Georgia District 7	Lost primary	$745,196	$742,025
Grand total			$1,500,879	$1,046,489
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Georgia

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Georgia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 28. ACLU Georgia Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to civil rights issues. Georgia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Georgia Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].
In 2023, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 9 to March 29. Georgia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Georgia State Senate District 7

Twitter

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Officeholder

Georgia State Senate District 7

Website

Personal

Facebook

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Tyler Harper (R)	Georgia State Senate District 7 2023-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Georgia State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Jason Anavitarte

Minority Leader:Harold Jones

Senators

District 1

Ben Watson (R)

District 2

Derek Mallow (D)

District 3

Mike Hodges (R)

District 4

Billy Hickman (R)

District 5

Sheikh Rahman (D)

District 6

Matt Brass (R)

District 7

Nabilah Islam Parkes (D)

District 8

Russ Goodman (R)

District 9

Nikki Merritt (D)

District 10

Emanuel Jones (D)

District 11

Sam Watson (R)

District 12

Freddie Sims (D)

District 13

Carden Summers (R)

District 14

Josh McLaurin (D)

District 15

Ed Harbison (D)

District 16

Marty Harbin (R)

District 17

Gail Davenport (D)

District 18

John Kennedy (R)

District 19

Blake Tillery (R)

District 20

Larry Walker (R)

District 21

Vacant

District 22

Harold Jones (D)

District 23

Max Burns (R)

District 24

Lee Anderson (R)

District 25

Ricky Williams (R)

District 26

David Lucas (D)

District 27

Greg Dolezal (R)

District 28

Donzella James (D)

District 29

Randy Robertson (R)

District 30

Tim Bearden (R)

District 31

Jason Anavitarte (R)

District 32

Kay Kirkpatrick (R)

District 33

Michael Rhett (D)

District 34

Kenya Wicks (D)

District 35

Jason Esteves (D)

District 36

Nan Orrock (D)

District 37

Ed Setzler (R)

District 38

Rashaun Kemp (D)

District 39

Sonya Halpern (D)

District 40

Sally Harrell (D)

District 41

Kim Jackson (D)

District 42

Brian Strickland (R)

District 43

Tonya Anderson (D)

District 44

Elena Parent (D)

District 45

Clint Dixon (R)

District 46

Bill Cowsert (R)

District 47

Frank Ginn (R)

District 48

Shawn Still (R)

District 49

Drew Echols (R)

District 50

Bo Hatchett (R)

District 51

Steve Gooch (R)

District 52

Chuck Hufstetler (R)

District 53

Colton Moore (R)

District 54

Chuck Payne (R)

District 55

Randal Mangham (D)

District 56

John Albers (R)

Republican Party (32)

Democratic Party (23)

Vacancies (1)