Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 03:47am on 05 Nov 2025,Wednesday India Global
Indian-American Democrat Ghazala Hashmi won Virginia's lieutenant governor race, defeating Republican John Reid. Born in Hyderabad in 1964, she emigrated to the US at age four, joining her father in Georgia. Hashmi becomes the first Muslim and South Asian American serving Virginia's Senate (15th District since 2019). Her victory triggers a special Senate seat election. She flipped a Republican-held seat in 2019 and chaired the Senate Education and Health Committee in 2024. Hashmi earned a PhD in American literature from Emory University, spent 30 years as professor at University of Richmond and Reynolds Community College, founding CETL. She lives in Richmond with husband Azhar Rafiq; daughters Yasmin and Noor graduated from UVA. (PC: X)
