Virginia state senator Ghazala Hashmi has been elected lieutenant governor, becoming the first Muslim American woman in the United States to win statewide office. NBC News projected her victory Tuesday night, alongside former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, who was elected governor of Virginia.
Hashmi, a Democrat representing a district southwest of Washington, D.C., addressed supporters in Richmond following the announcement. “Together, we have carved a new historic path,” she said. “My own journey from a young child landing at the airport in Savannah to now being elected as the first Muslim woman to achieve statewide office — not just in Virginia, but in the entire country — was possible because of the opportunities made available in this country and in this commonwealth.”
Born in Hyderabad, India, Hashmi immigrated to the United States as a child and spent much of her career in higher education before entering politics. She was first elected to the Virginia Senate in 2019, becoming the state’s first Muslim American woman legislator.
In a statement before the election, Hashmi told The Washington Post that she hoped voters would send a message showing they were “not divided on lines of bigotry.” After her win, she said, “We’re really showing the rest of the country that Virginia is in a position where we embrace diversity.”
The lieutenant governor of Virginia presides over the state Senate, casting tie-breaking votes when necessary, and is first in line to succeed the governor. Several previous lieutenant governors have used it as a springboard to higher office, including Winsome Earle-Sears, who served as the state’s first Black woman elected statewide before running for governor this year.
Hashmi and Spanberger, both Democrats, were elected separately but ran on parallel platforms focusing on affordability, access to child care, and improving the state’s education system. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement that Hashmi “ran a brilliantly focused campaign all about lowering costs, growing Virginia’s economy, and ensuring our kids have access to high-quality child care and education.”
Hashmi’s win marks the second time in five years that she has broken new ground in Virginia politics. Her election to statewide office comes amid continued demographic changes across the state, where voters in Northern Virginia and the Richmond suburbs have helped Democrats build durable coalitions in recent cycles.
Spanberger and Hashmi will take office in January. Hashmi’s term as lieutenant governor will coincide with a Democratic administration in Richmond for the first time since 2021.
