Hyderabad-born Ghazala Hashmi elected Virginia’s first Muslim and South Asian Lieutenant Governor
Hyderabad: Hyderabad-born American politician Ghazala Hashmi has been elected as Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor. She became the first Muslim and South Asian American to hold the post in the State’s history.
Hashmi, 61, a Democrat, won 1,465,634 votes, or 54.2 per cent. Meanwhile, her Republican rival John Reid received 1,232,242 votes, with 79 per cent of ballots counted. Therefore, her decisive victory marked one of the most closely followed contests in the 2025 US state elections.
Ghazala Hashmi elected to Virginia: a milestone for representation
Hashmi’s election represented a major step for minority representation. Moreover, she was among more than 30 Indian-American and South Asian candidates who ran for key offices across the United States this year.
Earlier, in 2019, she had already made history as the first Muslim and South Asian American to serve in the Virginia Senate. Since then, she has focused on public education, reproductive freedom, gun violence prevention, environmental protection, and affordable healthcare.
The Indian American Impact Fund, which invested $175,000 in her campaign, congratulated her on her victory. Furthermore, the organisation said it aimed to support barrier-breaking leaders who expand representation at every level of government.
Executive Director Chintan Patel described Hashmi’s win as a “landmark moment” for both the community and democracy. “An immigrant, educator and tireless advocate, she has dedicated her life to expanding opportunity and delivering results for working families,” he said. “From reproductive freedom and healthcare to public education and housing equity, Ghazala Hashmi has led on the issues that matter most to Virginians.”
From Hyderabad to Virginia politics
Born in Hyderabad in 1964, Hashmi moved to the United States with her family at the age of four. They joined her father in Georgia, where he pursued a PhD in international relations. Consequently, growing up during the desegregation of schools, she saw how dialogue and inclusion could unite divided communities.
She graduated as valedictorian of her high school and later earned a BA from Georgia Southern University. Afterwards, she completed her PhD in American literature at Emory University in Atlanta.
In 1991, she and her husband, Azhar, settled in Richmond. There, Hashmi spent nearly 30 years teaching at the University of Richmond and Reynolds Community College. Additionally, she founded the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at Reynolds.
In 2024, she became Chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee. Since then, she has continued to work actively on housing, education, healthcare, and environmental justice.
With this victory, Ghazala Hashmi has firmly cemented her place in Virginia’s political history as a pioneering and barrier-breaking leader.