I’d like to know right off the bat, do you think this was a vote against President Trump and backlash against his administration, or a vote for your ideas? Which one won the day?

Well, good morning. I think it’s a little bit of both. Virginia is the home of the largest population of federal workers. We certainly felt the immense harm with the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) cuts and now with the federal shutdown, we continue to see the impacts on Virginia and Virginia’s economy. So there is certainly a great deal of anger at the chaos and the dysfunction coming out of Washington at the same time. Related stories Spanberger win leads Democratic sweep of statewide races in Virginia Virginia Democrats expand majority in House of Delegates, win key Northern Va. seats Election 2025: Local and county election results for Virginia and Maryland I think we brought a message that spoke and resonated to Virginians. We were campaigning on the issues that impact all of our families, whether it’s affordable housing, lowering costs for child care, making sure that we have a strong and thriving economy. The other side ran on a message of bigotry and xenophobia, and I think Virginians responded knowing that they had very stark contrast between the two tickets.

Can you talk more about your goals and priorities for the next four years?

Well, the immediate concerns right now are, of course, responding to the chaos that we have coming from the federal shutdown. We are anticipating a serious crisis with the cuts to Medicaid, the loss of SNAP benefits is already impacting so many families. Our food banks are struggling, so in the immediate few weeks, we have to make sure that we can respond to support our families. And the Senate and the House in the General Assembly have already been working on crafting budget items that are going to be able to support Virginia’s families in the long term. You know, I’m a 30- year educator, and education has always been my top priority. I am excited at the opportunity to continue my work focusing on universal pre- K as well as comprehensive public education efforts and focusing also on strengthening our higher education and career and technical programs. T hat’s going to be a major focus for me over the next four years.

Can you make any promises now about redistricting and whether you would be opposed to that for partisan gains?

Well, you know, I was part of the Senate that was meeting last week as a sitting senator, we had extensive discussions on the proposals in front of us. We passed the resolution out of the H ouse and out of the Senate, and it is the first step of a lengthy process. As you know, the resolution will be coming back in front of our new General Assembly in January, and then that proposal will go to voters, and that is a critical option that we’ll need to keep on the table, given the dire crisis that we are seeing across the country and in s o many states, such as Texas and Florida and Ohio. T his gives Virginia’s voters a voice in responding as Americans to the situation that’s happening nationally.

Do you think the Democrat wins in Virginia and other states and New York City, for example, are an indication of how the midterms might go?

I think we see the complete incompetence of the GOP- led Congress, their inability to manage the situation that we are facing with the federal shutdown, their inability to actually do the work for their constituents. They are too busy supporting the policies of Donald Trump rather than actually fighting on behalf of their constituents and their states.

How do you view the role of l ieutenant g overnor once you get into office? How will you use the powers that are vested in you?

You know, I think for me, the biggest strength that I bring is that I’ve spent six years now in the Virginia Senate. I’ve built those critical relationships, not just across the aisle, but across the chamber, and across so many state agencies and departments, it is really incumbent upon us to hit the ground running. I w ill be in a position to work very closely, not just with the our incoming new governor, but also with our general assembly, ensuring that we are able to work on those policy priorities around health care, education, housing affordability, all of those concerns are going to be in front of us this upcoming session, and I am ready to help navigate a lot of that policy work.

How do you feel about becoming the first Muslim woman to win statewide office in Virginia?

Well, I’m deeply, deeply honored. You know, I think this is not so much about me, but it’s about where we are in Virginia, that we have an opportunity here to demonstrate the diverse communities that we have, the inclusive values that we share. It really is representative of the dramatic changes that we have seen in Virginia over the past several decades. I know so many of our communities are just very excited about the direction that we are charting now for the commonwealth.

What is the direction at the moment? One of the biggest headlines from E lection D ay that didn’t come out of Virginia was in New York City where a Democratic socialist won. Do you feel the pull to the left from things like that?

You know, there’s a lot of complexity in that question. New York City is, of course, a very different space than Virginia, and I can speak about what I’ve seen living for over three decades in Virginia, that we have been the home now of an expanding immigrant community and population. We have seen tremendous growth in many of our urban and suburban areas, and we have been able to build an economy that responds to so many of the new developments in a global way, and we’re in a position to be leaders on many different issues, and I see great potential for us to continue that work. As I said, I’m focused on education, and the biggest goal is going to be that we are able to help educate the skilled and talented workforce for the next several decades so that we can meet the global challenges that Virginia and the country are looking at.

Q&A: Democrat Lieutenant Governor elect Ghazala Hashmi

Democrat Ghazala Hashmi has made history with her victory in Virginia’s lieutenant governor’s race.

Democrat Ghazala Hashmi speaks on stage at an election night watch party for Democrat Abigail Spanberger after Hashmi was declared the winner of the Virginia lieutenant governor's race Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)(AP/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Hashmi is the first Indian American to win statewide office in Virginia. She also is the nation’s first Muslim woman elected to statewide office.

She walked away with 55.2% of the vote, while Republican radio host John Reid fell behind with 44.5%, The Associated Press reported at 2 p.m. with 96% of votes counted.

Hashmi will succeed Winsome Earle-Sears as the new lieutenant governor, and campaigned on promises to stand up to the Trump administration. Hashmi, a state senator, helped flip the chamber in 2019.

WTOP’s Michelle Basch and John Domen spoke to Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi about her historic win.

Read and listen to the interview below.

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WTOP’s Michelle Basch and John Domen spoke to Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi about her historic win.

The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

John Aaron :
I’d like to know right off the bat, do you think this was a vote against President Trump and backlash against his administration, or a vote for your ideas? Which one won the day?
Ghazala Hashmi:
Well, good morning. I think it’s a little bit of both. Virginia is the home of the largest population of federal workers. We certainly felt the immense harm with the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) cuts and now with the federal shutdown, we continue to see the impacts on Virginia and Virginia’s economy. So there is certainly a great deal of anger at the chaos and the dysfunction coming out of Washington at the same time.
Related stories
I think we brought a message that spoke and resonated to Virginians. We were campaigning on the issues that impact all of our families, whether it’s affordable housing, lowering costs for child care, making sure that we have a strong and thriving economy. The other side ran on a message of bigotry and xenophobia, and I think Virginians responded knowing that they had very stark contrast between the two tickets.

Michelle Basch :
Can you talk more about your goals and priorities for the next four years?
Ghazala Hashmi:
Well, the immediate concerns right now are, of course, responding to the chaos that we have coming from the federal shutdown. We are anticipating a serious crisis with the cuts to Medicaid, the loss of SNAP benefits is already impacting so many families. Our food banks are struggling, so in the immediate few weeks, we have to make sure that we can respond to support our families.

And the Senate and the House in the General Assembly have already been working on crafting budget items that are going to be able to support Virginia’s families in the long term.

You know, I’m a 30-year educator, and education has always been my top priority. I am excited at the opportunity to continue my work focusing on universal pre-K as well as comprehensive public education efforts and focusing also on strengthening our higher education and career and technical programs. That’s going to be a major focus for me over the next four years.

John Aaron:
Can you make any promises now about redistricting and whether you would be opposed to that for partisan gains?
Ghazala Hashmi:
Well, you know, I was part of the Senate that was meeting last week as a sitting senator, we had extensive discussions on the proposals in front of us. We passed the resolution out of the House and out of the Senate, and it is the first step of a lengthy process.

As you know, the resolution will be coming back in front of our new General Assembly in January, and then that proposal will go to voters, and that is a critical option that we’ll need to keep on the table, given the dire crisis that we are seeing across the country and in so many states, such as Texas and Florida and Ohio. This gives Virginia’s voters a voice in responding as Americans to the situation that’s happening nationally.

Michelle Basch:
Do you think the Democrat wins in Virginia and other states and New York City, for example, are an indication of how the midterms might go?
Ghazala Hashmi:
I think we see the complete incompetence of the GOP-led Congress, their inability to manage the situation that we are facing with the federal shutdown, their inability to actually do the work for their constituents. They are too busy supporting the policies of Donald Trump rather than actually fighting on behalf of their constituents and their states.

John Aaron:
How do you view the role of lieutenant governor once you get into office? How will you use the powers that are vested in you?
Ghazala Hashmi:
You know, I think for me, the biggest strength that I bring is that I’ve spent six years now in the Virginia Senate. I’ve built those critical relationships, not just across the aisle, but across the chamber, and across so many state agencies and departments, it is really incumbent upon us to hit the ground running.

I will be in a position to work very closely, not just with the our incoming new governor, but also with our general assembly, ensuring that we are able to work on those policy priorities around health care, education, housing affordability, all of those concerns are going to be in front of us this upcoming session, and I am ready to help navigate a lot of that policy work.

Michelle Basch:
How do you feel about becoming the first Muslim woman to win statewide office in Virginia?
Ghazala Hashmi:
Well, I’m deeply, deeply honored. You know, I think this is not so much about me, but it’s about where we are in Virginia, that we have an opportunity here to demonstrate the diverse communities that we have, the inclusive values that we share. It really is representative of the dramatic changes that we have seen in Virginia over the past several decades.

I know so many of our communities are just very excited about the direction that we are charting now for the commonwealth.

John Aaron:
What is the direction at the moment? One of the biggest headlines from Election Day that didn’t come out of Virginia was in New York City where a Democratic socialist won. Do you feel the pull to the left from things like that?
Ghazala Hashmi:
You know, there’s a lot of complexity in that question. New York City is, of course, a very different space than Virginia, and I can speak about what I’ve seen living for over three decades in Virginia, that we have been the home now of an expanding immigrant community and population. We have seen tremendous growth in many of our urban and suburban areas, and we have been able to build an economy that responds to so many of the new developments in a global way, and we’re in a position to be leaders on many different issues, and I see great potential for us to continue that work.

As I said, I’m focused on education, and the biggest goal is going to be that we are able to help educate the skilled and talented workforce for the next several decades so that we can meet the global challenges that Virginia and the country are looking at.