Rasia Nayeem Hashmi
Hyderabad/Virginia: It is a very proud moment for the Hyderabadis as well as all Indians, as the Democrat Ghazala Hashmi defeated Republican incumbent Sen. Glen Sturtevant (R-Richmond) in the race for Virginia’s 10th Senate District on Tuesday night.
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With this, she has become the first Muslim woman elected to the state Senate.
During her campaign, Hashmi focused on issues such as gun violence and education.
After winning the election Ghazala Hashmi tweeted Tuesday evening: “This victory, is not mine alone. It belongs to all of you who believed that we needed to make progressive change here in Virginia, for all of you who felt that you haven’t had a voice and believed in me to be yours in the General Assembly.”
She added: “Today we sent a message that the status quo is no longer accepted. Thank you all for your support and passion in helping me become the next state Senator for Virginia’s 10th District! I couldn’t be more honored to be apart of the change to come for Virginia.”
Thanking her supporters she wrote: “This victory, is not mine alone. It belongs to all of you who believed that we needed to make progressive change here in Virginia, for all of you who felt that you haven’t had a voice and believed in me to be yours in the General Assembly.”
Born in Hyderabad, India, Ghazala Hashmi immigrated to the U.S. 50 years ago as a child and has spent most of her life in Georgia and Virginia. She earned her doctorate in English from Emory University. She is an experienced educator.
New York Times reported, “The Democrats completed Virginia’s historic partisan shift from red to blue on Tuesday, winning majorities in both chambers of the legislature and consolidating power across state government for the first time in a generation.” It added, “Going into Tuesday, Republicans held a 20 to 19 advantage in the State Senate and a 51 to 48 edge in the House of Delegates, with one vacancy in each chamber. Democrats picked up at least two Senate seats, including an upset in a suburban Richmond district by Ghazala Hashmi, who will be the first Muslim woman in the Senate.”
