Indian-American Democrat Ghazala Hashmi Is Virginia's New Lieutenant Governor

Indian-origin Democrat Ghazala Hashmi has won Virginia lieutenant governor's race, defeating Republican John Reid. Hashmi is the first Muslim and the first South Asian American to serve in the Virginia Senate, representing 15th Senatorial District. Hashmi's latest victory means her Senate seat will have to be filled in a special election.

She entered politics in 2019 and in a shocking victory, she flipped over a Republican-held state Senate seat and was elected to the Virginia General Assembly. Five years later, in 2024, she was named Chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee, a crucial leadership post for two critical Democratic priorities, reproductive freedom and public education.

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