🗳️ Virginia Election: Democrat Ghazala Hashmi Defeats Gay Republican John Reid in Lieutenant Governor Race
Richmond, Va. — Democrat Ghazala Hashmi has defeated Republican John Reid in Virginia’s closely watched lieutenant-governor race, ending a campaign marked by controversy and making national history in the process.
With about 86 percent of the vote counted, Hashmi led Reid 55 percent to 45 percent, and the Associated Press projected her victory late Tuesday night. The result makes Hashmi the first Muslim woman ever elected to statewide office in the United States and extends Democratic gains in Virginia’s 2025 cycle.
🏛️ Historic Firsts and Party Divide
Hashmi, already known as the first Indian American and first Muslim woman elected to the Virginia Senate in 2019, ran a campaign centered on inclusion, education, and restoring civility to state politics. Her win comes as Democrat Abigail Spanberger captured the governorship, defeating current lieutenant governor Winsome Earle-Sears, a conservative Republican and outspoken opponent of LGBTQ+ rights.
Virginia elects its governor and lieutenant governor separately, meaning Hashmi and Spanberger were not technically running as a ticket but will now serve together in Richmond.
🌈 Reid’s Campaign and Controversy
Reid, a former Richmond radio host and longtime conservative commentator, had hoped to make history as the first openly gay Republican elected to statewide office in the nation. Early in the race, his campaign drew attention for the unusual dynamic within the GOP field: his open support for marriage equality contrasted sharply with Earle-Sears’s opposition to it.
But as the general election approached, the conversation shifted. In October, The Advocate and other outlets reported that an American Journal News investigation had connected Reid to a now-deleted Tumblr blog allegedly containing pornography and Nazi-themed imagery. The account, titled JRDeux, reportedly amplified posts from another user promoting swastikas, white-supremacist slogans, and violent sexual content.
Reid denied any involvement, calling the reporting “a coordinated smear,” and insisted the allegations were politically motivated. However, critics noted that he had used the same online handle on other platforms, keeping the issue alive through the final weeks of the race.
The scandal dominated local headlines and complicated his efforts to distance himself from the far-right factions of his own party. “He couldn’t control the narrative after that story broke,” one Virginia Republican strategist said. “Every question became about the blog, not about policy.”
🕌 Hashmi’s Message of Unity
Hashmi’s campaign focused on education, women’s rights, and combating extremism. She often spoke about her experience emigrating from India as a child and credited the Trump administration’s 2017 travel ban on several majority-Muslim countries as the event that first pushed her into politics.
“It’s become an even sharper focus for me that I stand up to the bigotry and division that Trump introduced in 2016 and continues to promote now,” Hashmi told The 19th in an interview before Election Day.
Her message resonated in suburban counties that once leaned Republican, helping Democrats secure a broader statewide sweep.
⚖️ What Comes Next
Reid congratulated Hashmi in a brief post on X (formerly Twitter) late Tuesday, thanking his supporters and pledging to remain active in public life. “I believe in Virginia’s future,” he wrote, “and I’ll keep working for the values that brought me here.”
Analysts say Hashmi’s win cements Virginia’s status as a bellwether for the nation’s ongoing cultural and political realignment — one in which questions of identity, morality, and representation continue to redefine both major parties.
For now, Virginia voters have sent a clear message: the next chapter of state leadership will be written by women — one a Christian former CIA agent, the other a Muslim immigrant academic — leading side by side in Richmond.
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