NRI Ghazala Hashmi wins Virginia Lieutenant Governor election
Los Angeles/Nov 04, 2025
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/A.Gary Singh
NRI Democrat Ghazala Hashmi has been elected lieutenant governor, defeating Republican nominee John Reid in the November 2025 election.
Hashmi, a state senator representing a district south of Richmond and formerly a college professor, becomes both the first Indian-American and the first Muslim to win statewide office in Virginia.
Her historic win is being seen as a major milestone for representation and diversity in U.S. state‐level politics, and a strong signal of shifting dynamics in Virginia’s electorate heading into the 2026 midterms.
BIOGRAPHY...
- Ghazala Firdous Hashmi was born on July 5, 1964 in Hyderabad, India.
- Her family emigrated to the United States when she was a young child and settled in Georgia, where her father and uncle taught at Georgia Southern University.
- She earned a B.A. in English (magna cum laude) from Georgia Southern University and later earned a Ph.D. in English (American literature) from Emory University.
- Hashmi spent roughly 25 years as an educator and academic administrator in Virginia, teaching English literature and leading the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning at Reynolds Community College.
- Her professional background as an educator shaped her focus on public education and community development before entering politics.
- She was elected to the Virginia Senate in November 2019, representing the 10th District (later reorganised to the 15th District). In doing so, she became the first Muslim and first South Asian American woman to serve in that chamber.
- In June 2025, she secured the Democratic nomination to run for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, becoming the first Muslim and first Indian-American to be nominated for a statewide office in Virginia.
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