Latest news with #GhazalaHashmi
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats and Republicans were out on the Virginia campaign trail. Here's what they had to say.
With four months until Election Day in Virginia, the campaigns for statewide office are heating up. Both parties are projecting a message of unity, but the ways they've sought to demonstrate unity amongst themselves has varied. Immediately after June's primaries, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger embarked on an eight-day bus tour across the state, where she was joined at stops by Ghazala Hashmi and Jay Jones, the nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general. Meanwhile, Republican candidates Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, Attorney General Jason Miyares and conservative radio host John Reid — who have been the presumptive nominees for months — appeared together for the first time Tuesday night. 'To describe the Republican rally as a unity rally requires a very flexible definition of unity,' said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. 'The party candidates barely appeared on stage together, did not have a lot to say about each other, and generally have a kind of problematic history for imagining that they're going to be able to work together this fall.' Statewide candidates are elected separately, meaning it's possible to have a governor and lieutenant governor from different parties. In 2005, Virginians elected Democrat Tim Kaine as governor and Republicans Bill Bolling and Bob McDonnell as lieutenant governor and attorney general. Here's how Hampton Roads lawmakers voted on Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Spanberger, other Democrats vying for office draw hundreds at Williamsburg campaign stop Virginia's Republican statewide ticket rallies together for the first time But whether Republicans Earle-Sears, Reid, and Miyares — candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general — have convinced voters they're past their infighting, Farnsworth said a split ticket is unlikely. 'I do think that in this political environment, there aren't going to be very many swing voters,' he said. 'The reality of 2025 is that of a very, very partisan time, and so most voters are likely to vote a unified ticket, because the parties have become increasingly distant from each other nationally and in Virginia.' That means voting for candidates and policies for or against President Donald Trump. 'I think most people, particularly given the very combative approach to governing from President Trump, have decided they're either all in with the president or all not in with the president,' Farnsworth said. 'The old saying that all politics is local I don't think really applies these days when you're looking at what's motivating people.' Meanwhile, the Democratic statewide ticket campaigned together in Hampton Roads last weekend as part of Spanberger's bus tour. The tour concluded Saturday with stops in Williamsburg, Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Jones seemingly took aim at the Republicans, who had then not appeared in public together. 'We got a ticket with Ghazala Hashmi and Abigail Spanberger,' he said at a speech at Lafayette High School in Williamsburg. 'And I'll let you in on a little secret this morning: We actually like each other.' Jones made the same comment in Norfolk later that day. Democrats are running on a staunchly anti-Trump platform. Along the trail, Jones pledged to enter Virginia into lawsuits against the Trump administration brought by Democratic attorneys general. Hashmi criticized Gov. Glenn Youngkin for telling laid off federal workers to polish their resumes. And Spanberger said she would defend veterans' access to health care. 'At the theoretical level, people are more likely to describe themselves as conservative,' Farnsworth said. 'But when people start seeing programs cut, they're a lot less conservative than they thought there were … the challenge for Republicans in this environment is not unlike what Democrats faced during the Biden years. 'You have to live with the consequences of the policy choices in Washington, even if you had nothing to do with them.' Statewide Republicans on the campaign trail are engaging less with federal policy, and instead spoke on issues such as transgender children, school choice and Virginia's status as a right-to-work state. At a rally before a packed house Tuesday in Vienna, Earle-Sears spoke at length about her father fleeing socialism in Jamaica and the nomination of Zohran Mamdani as Democratic mayoral candidate in New York. 'You've seen where my old hometown New York has nominated a socialist,' she said. The crowd booed. 'And make no mistake about it, the ideas that my opponent has are socialist in nature, because it's all about what government is going to do and to take your money to do it.' In Williamsburg, Spanberger dismissed the connection to Mamdani. 'I'm kind of a little bit laughing because it's New York City — we're Virginia,' she told reporters. 'I don't know anything about New York politics.' Farnsworth was not convinced that was an effective political strategy. 'It strikes me as a desperate move to imagine that the voice of Democratic primary voters in New York City has any bearing on the Virginia gubernatorial election,' he said. 'People always wish they were running against the politician that they mention, but they're actually running against the politician whose name is on the ballot, or the national figure, the president.' Farnsworth predicted that Republicans will face some significant headwinds this election. Historically, the party out of power in the White House does well in statewide elections in Virginia the following year. For example, in 2021, a year after Joe Biden was elected as president, Republicans regained control of the House of Delegates and won all three statewide positions. Kate Seltzer, 757-713-7881,
Washington Post
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
New York mayor primary spurs unwarranted freakout about instant runoffs
Virginia state Sen. Ghazala F. Hashmi won Tuesday's six-way Democratic primary for lieutenant governor with 27.4 percent of the vote, barely edging out former Richmond mayor Levar Stoney, who received 26.6 percent, and state Sen. Aaron Rouse, who garnered 26.3 percent. The bunch-up — along with the three other candidates each pulling more than five percent — means a supermajority of Virginia Democrats preferred someone besides the winner. In contrast, the Democratic primary for attorney general offered just two choices: Jerrauld C. 'Jay' Jones beat Shannon Taylor 51 percent to 49 percent, narrowly but cleanly.
Washington Post
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
After Virginia elections, governor's race begins a new phase
RICHMOND — Virginia's election season kicked into high gear Saturday as the newly formed Democratic lineup for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general launched a statewide bus tour on a blistering hot afternoon while their Republican rivals kept to a far more low-key campaign approach. 'Everywhere we travel, people get to hear from us about the things we are for,' gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger said at an afternoon rally at Richmond's Abner Clay Park with her ticket mates, state Sen. Ghazala F. Hashmi (Richmond) for lieutenant governor, and former Norfolk delegate Jerrauld C. 'Jay' Jones for attorney general.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Petersburg councilor shifts independent lieutenant governor bid to write-in campaign
His name will not be pre-printed on the November ballot under "Lieutenant Governor," but Petersburg Councilor Marlow Jones is hoping voters will print his name on the Nov. 4 ballot under "Write-In" with their pens. Jones, known for his outspokenness and candor while representing Petersburg's Ward 1 the past two years, announced June 20 he is launching a write-in campaign for Virginia's No. 2 elected post. Earlier in the year, Jones began circulating petitions to be on the ballot as an independent candidate, but he failed to meet the minimum requirements for his name to appear. So, Jones is going to Plan B with the write-in campaign. 'This race should be about the people—our youth, our seniors, and working families who are too often ignored by the political elite,' Jones said in a statement released by his campaign. 'I'm not here for backroom deals or partyloyalty. I'm here to fight for the voiceless.' Jones, a former Petersburg Fire official, told The Progress-Index last March that he toyed with the idea of seeking the Republican lieutenant governor nod but changed his mind. Virginia's lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate and votes to break ties when senators deadlock on an issue. In most cases, that person votes with their party, but Jones said he was not keen on that prospect. 'I believe that if I am the deciding vote in the Senate, I should be nonpartisan,' Jones said then. On the ballot for lieutenant governor are Democrat Ghazala Hashmi, a Chesterfield County state senator, and Republican John Reid, a former Richmond newscaster and radio talk-show host. More: Democrats select nominees for lieutenant governor, attorney general in down-to-wire races In the announcement, Jones acknowledged the tough road ahead of him. No candidates without party backing or who run write-in campaigns have been successful in winning major political office in Virginia. That is why he is announcing his candidacy five months before the November election −to garner grassroots support. Jones also said he had been told that his candidacy might make Hashmi or Reid uncomfortable, and he is fine with that. 'If you're tired of politics as usual, and ready to see someone hold statewide candidates accountable, then I'm your choice,' Jones stated in the announcement. 'This is a voter-conscious campaign, and every nickel and dime helps us carry this message across the commonwealth.' More: Dougherty wins Democratic nod in House race; Flowers cruises in Petersburg local primary Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg councilor Jones launches write-in bid for lieutenant governor
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Who is Ghazala Hashmi? Indian-American wins lieutenant governor nomination; Democrat to contest Virginia race
Source- Instagram Senator Ghazala Hashmi made history on Wednesday by winning the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of Virginia. She is now the first Muslim and the first Indian-American ever nominated for a statewide office in Virginia. Hashmi defeated five Democratic candidates, including former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, clinching the nomination by a razor-thin margin of less than one percentage point. She will now face Republican John Reid in November. Reid is the first openly gay man nominated by a major party for statewide office in Virginia. With Hashmi joining gubernatorial nominee Rep. Abigail Spanberger and attorney general candidate Jay Jones, Democrats have now completed their statewide ticket. The general election could be historic in multiple ways, including the possibility of Virginia electing its first woman governor. Who is Ghazala Hashmi? Hashmi is the first Muslim woman and first South Asian American elected to Virginia's state Senate. She was born in India and moved to the US at age 4, settling in Georgia with her family. Hashmi holds a PhD in American literature and spent most of her professional life as a professor. She taught at the University of Richmond and later at Reynolds Community College before entering politics. In 2019, she entered the Virginia Senate by defeating Republican Glen Sturtevant in a closely watched race. She was re-elected in 2023. In the Senate, she championed reproductive rights. One of her key bills aimed to protect Virginians' access to contraception. The bill passed both chambers but was vetoed by Governor Glenn Youngkin.
