WASHINGTON, Nov 5 : Democrat Ghazala Hashmi has won the lieutenant governor’s race in Virginia, defeating Republican John Reid.
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.
She is the first Indian American and first Muslim to win statewide office in Virginia.
As lieutenant governor, Hashmi will preside over a closely-divided Virginia state Senate, where Democrats currently hold a slim 21-19 seat advantage. The lieutenant governor votes when there’s a tie in the Senate.
Hashmi’s victory also means her Senate seat will have to be filled in a special election. (AP)
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