Ghazala Hashmi, the first Muslim to serve in Virginia’s Senate, has won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in Tuesday’s primary election, firming up the Democrats’ lineup in statewide races for November’s general election.
Hashmi won the crowded primary race by a slim margin, beating Democrat Levar Stoney by less than a percentage point.
With Hashmi’s victory, Democrats have solidified their nominees for statewide office ahead of Election Day in November.
She will run alongside U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger and former state Del. Jay Jones, who won the Democratic nomination for attorney general on Tuesday night.
“As the Democratic ticket running to serve as Virginia’s next Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, we are united in our focus on the issues that matter to our fellow Virginians,” Hashmi, Jones and Spanberger said in a joint statement Wednesday morning.
Some political experts look at Virginia’s off-year elections as an early indicator for potential outcomes from the midterms in 2026. This year is guaranteed to make history with the state set to elect it’s first female governor.
Both Spanberger and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears ran unopposed in the gubernatorial race.
Conservatives didn’t hold a statewide primary this year. Earle-Sears was the only candidate to qualify for the governor’s race.
Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares easily secured his reelection bid.
And despite some earlier controversy in his candidacy, talk-radio host John Reid became the de facto lieutenant governor nominee for Republicans.
Hashmi beats out five candidates in lieutenant governor race
The Associated Press declared Hashmi the winner in the primary for lieutenant governor on Wednesday morning.
As of 11 a.m., Hashmi earned 27.4% of the vote in the six-way race.
Former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, came in just behind Hashmi with 26.6% of the vote. He conceded Wednesday morning, congratulated the state senator and encouraged his supporters to rally around the nominee.
Here’s how the other candidates held up, with their percentage of the vote as of 11 a.m.:
- State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi of Richmond — 27.4%
- Former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney — 26.66%
- State Sen. Aaron Rouse of Virginia Beach — 26.3%
- Prince William County School Board Chairman Babur Lateef — 8.4%
- Former federal government attorney Alexander J. Bastani — 5.7%
- Former federal government attorney Victor Salgado — 5.5%
Hashimi released a statement Tuesday night declaring victory and thanking her supporters.
“We didn’t just win a primary, we sent a clear message that we won’t be bullied, broken, or dragged backward by the chaos in Washington,” Hashimi wrote in a post on X.
The former professor began her career in the Virginia Senate six years ago after ousting incumbent Republican Sen. Glen Sturtevant.
In the Senate, Hashmi put forth bills establishing Virginians’ right to contraception, which passed both chambers but were vetoed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. She garnered a handful of endorsements from pro-abortion rights political action committees.
Former state Del. Jay Jones wins Democratic nomination as Va. attorney general
Jones will face Miyares in the November general election.
He defeated Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor. The margin between Jones and Taylor proved razor thin; however, the winning ticket was ultimately called for Jones at 9:55 p.m. Jones clinched 51% of the vote to Taylor’s 49%.
Moments after Jones clinched the nomination, Miyares issued a statement claiming that Jones’ win makes “clear they (Democrats) stand to unravel the safer, more prosperous Virginia we have worked so hard to build.” Miyares also faced no opposition within his party in seeking reelection.
“My opponent’s ideological record makes Virginia families less safe and our streets more violent,” he added.
Speaking to WTOP’s Mike Murillo on his win and Miyares’ statement, Jones said his November opponent has “had every opportunity to fight for federal workers, to fight for people’s livelihood. He’d rather be Donald Trump’s pro bono attorney than do his job.”
“Democrats are ready to go and get our Commonwealth back on track, win the governor’s mansion, get the gavel back in the Senate, beat Jason Miyares and grow our majority in the House of Delegates,” he added.
Jones, who represented Norfolk in the House of Delegates for four years, comes from a long line of Hampton Roads politicians. His father was also a delegate, and his grandfather was the first Black member of the Norfolk School Board. Jones previously ran for attorney general in 2021 but lost the primary to Democratic incumbent Mark Herring.
“Polling doesn’t tell us a whole lot, again both candidates are raising about the same amount, but the big difference between the two is the looming presence of Dominion Energy. Shannon Taylor has received quite a bit from Dominion Energy and Jay Jones has actually been very outspoken against Dominion Energy,” said Alex Keena, political science professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
On the campaign trail, Jones touted himself as a candidate with the experience best suited for the job: He had worked as an assistant attorney general in D.C., where he said he had litigated consumer protection cases.
If elected attorney general, he also vowed to push back against President Donald Trump in court.
“I am ready for this fight and to win this November,” Jones said in a victory statement.
House of Delegates majority hangs in the balance
All 100 seats in the state House of Delegates are up for election this year, although only 15 districts held contested primaries. Democrats hold slender majorities in both the state House (51-49) and the state Senate (21-19). Members of the upper chamber will not face voters until 2027.
In the D.C. region, the only contested primaries for House seats were in Arlington County’s District 1, Prince William County’s District 21 and Culpeper County’s District 62.
In District 1, incumbent Democratic Del. Patrick Hope faced challenges from Sean Epstein and Arjoon Srikanth. Hope was declared the winner at 8:37 p.m., with 72.4% of the vote to Srikanth’s 18.9% and Epstein’s 8.8%.
“I’ve never stopped fighting for my constituents and, clearly, this is a clear message we’re not done fighting,” Hope told WTOP’s Nick Iannelli, adding that the biggest concerns for Virginians are what’s happening in Congress.
“They’re concerned about the reductions in force for federal employees and contractors,” Hope said of Virginians. “Everyone at some point is affected by that. I know our locality is affected by it as well, too. But also they’re watching what’s happening through the reconciliation process in Congress and they’re very concerned about what that might mean for their pocketbooks.”
Hope said federal spending cuts could ultimately harm Virginia for years. “The state’s going to have to kick in revenue to help close those gaps to help support those families. And this is not just a one-time thing. This is going to really affect our surpluses going forward,” he said.
Republicans in District 21 chose from Gregory Gorham, Xanthe Larsen and Sahar Smith. The winner will face off against incumbent Democratic Del. Joshua Thomas. At 8:10 p.m., Gorham was declared the winner by The Associated Press, having led with 66.3% of the vote to Smith’s 27% and Larsen’s 6.6%
District 62’s Republican Del. Nick Freitas did not run for reelection, opening the door for two new Republican candidates, Clay Jackson and Karen Hamilton. The winner will face off against Democrat Sara Ratcliffe in November. AP called the race for Hamilton at 9:58 p.m. with 58% of the vote.
Low turnout reported
As of 10:57 p.m. Tuesday, Fairfax County reported 9.39% of registered voters had shown up to the polls to vote — that’s on top of the 3.9% of registered voters who voted early in-person or through a mail-in ballot.
The last primary for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general in 2021 saw 11.3% turnout among registered Democrats.
Four years ago, five Democrats were vying for the nomination for governor. But this year, Spanberger is running unopposed, which may explain the lower turnout. Republicans opted to hold a convention instead of a primary in 2021.
Arlington County reported that, as of 10:57 p.m., about 14.40% of registered voters had voted Tuesday. On top of early voting and mail ballots, total turnout sat at about 12%, according to the county’s elections board. In 2021’s primary, 16% turnout was reported.
In Loudoun County, total turnout sat at 6.35%, including mail ballots, early voting and Election Day voting. That compares to 13.81% turnout in 2017’s primary. Loudoun County didn’t have turnout data for 2021’s primary on its website.
Prince William County reported 7.61% total turnout, including all forms of voting Tuesday. Turnout data for past gubernatorial primaries in Prince William was not immediately available.
WTOP’s Gaby Arancibia, Jessica Kronzer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify Jay Jones has won the Democratic nomination for the Virginia attorney general race.
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