Zohran Mamdani was not the only Muslim politician in the United States to have a historic election night as he won the New York City mayoral race.
Ghazala Hashmi, also of the Democratic Party, won a state lieutenant governor’s race on Tuesday, becoming the first Indian American and first Muslim to win statewide office in Virginia.
“This was possible,” she said in her victory speech, “because of the depth and breadth of the opportunities made available in this country and in this commonwealth.”
Hashmi, 61, arrived in the US as a child, coming from Hyderabad, India, with her family to join her father, who was teaching at Georgia Southern University in Savannah.
Hashmi is currently a state senator representing a district south of Richmond, Virginia. Prior to that, she worked as a college professor in Virginia. She entered politics in 2019 by flipping a Republican-held Virginia State Senate seat, and went on to win a crowded Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in June.
Islamophobia reared its head throughout Mamdani’s campaign, primarily from Republicans and from officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump.
The pivotal election night was a resounding rebuke of Trump and his Republican Party.
Democrats were victorious in New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections, in California’s Proposition 50 vote, and in mayoral races.
The post Ghazala Hashmi is first Muslim to win statewide office in Virginia appeared first on Al Jazeera.
