Democrat Ghazala Hashmi is set to win the Virginia lieutenant governor’s race, according to CNN projections on Tuesday. She will become the country's first Muslim woman elected to statewide office. The Indian-American beat Republican John Reid, former talk show host and Virginia's first gay statewide nominee.
Hashmi is currently a state senator representing a district south of Richmond. Prior to that, she worked as a college professor in Virginia. She entered politics in 2019 by flipping a Republican-held state Senate seat and went to on to win a crowded Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in June.
Ghazala Hashmi family
Ghazala Hashmi is married to her husband, Azhar Rafiq, for over three decades. The couple has two daughters. The Hashmi family lives in the Richmond area since the early 1990s.
Rafiq, and Hashmi married in the late 1980s and relocated to the Richmond area in 1991 as newlyweds. Ghazala built a nearly 30-year career as a professor of English and literature, first at the University of Richmond and later at Reynolds Community College, where she founded the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
Who is Ghazala Hashmi?
Hashmi made history as both the first Muslim and the first South Asian American elected to the Virginia Senate. Before entering public service, Hashmi spent nearly three decades in academia. After moving to Richmond with her husband, Azhar, in 1991, she taught at the University of Richmond and later at Reynolds Community College, where she also founded and directed the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL).
{{/usCountry}}Hashmi made history as both the first Muslim and the first South Asian American elected to the Virginia Senate. Before entering public service, Hashmi spent nearly three decades in academia. After moving to Richmond with her husband, Azhar, in 1991, she taught at the University of Richmond and later at Reynolds Community College, where she also founded and directed the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL).
{{/usCountry}}Hashmi’s journey to public life began far from Virginia. Born in India, she emigrated to the United States at the age of four with her mother and brother, joining her father in Georgia, who was completing his Ph.D. in international relations.
An accomplished scholar, Hashmi graduated as valedictorian of her high school class and received several scholarships and fellowships. She went on to earn her BA with honors from Georgia Southern University and later a Ph.D. in American literature from Emory University in Atlanta.
Her political rise began with a landmark victory in 2019, when she unseated a Republican incumbent, helping Democrats reclaim the Senate majority for the first time in years. In recognition of her leadership, her colleagues appointed her in 2024 as Chair of the influential Senate Education and Health Committee.