RICHMOND – Democratic state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi made history Tuesday (November 4), winning Virginia’s race for lieutenant governor and becoming the first Indian American and Muslim elected to statewide office in the commonwealth.
Hashmi, who currently represents parts of the Richmond area in the Virginia Senate, has been a prominent voice on education, social justice, and voting rights. Her victory marks a significant milestone for representation in Virginia politics, reflecting the state’s increasing diversity.
Born in India, Hashmi emigrated to the United States at age four with her mother and brother to join her father in Georgia, where he was completing his Ph.D. in international relations. Growing up during the desegregation of public schools, she said the experience shaped her belief in the power of dialogue and community-building across cultural and racial divides.
Hashmi earned her bachelor’s degree with honors from Georgia Southern University and later received a Ph.D. in American literature from Emory University in Atlanta.
She and her husband, Azhar, moved to the Richmond area as newlyweds in 1991. Over the next three decades, she built a distinguished career in higher education, teaching first at the University of Richmond and later at Reynolds Community College, where she founded and directed the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. The couple’s two daughters graduated from Chesterfield County Public Schools and the University of Virginia.
Hashmi was first elected to the Virginia Senate in 2019, unseating a Republican incumbent in an upset victory that helped deliver Democrats a majority in the chamber for the first time in years. In 2024, she was appointed chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee, a key post overseeing two top Democratic priorities: reproductive freedom and public education.
Throughout her legislative career, Hashmi has focused on improving the lives of Virginians by addressing inequities in housing, education, health care, and environmental justice. She has also championed gun violence prevention, voting rights, and the preservation of democracy.
