New Delhi, Nov. 5 -- Ghazala Hashmi, an Indian-origin Democrat, won the Virginia lieutenant governor's race. Ghazala Hashmi defeated Republican John Reid.

She is the first Muslim and the first South Asian American to serve in the Virginia Senate, representing the 15th Senatorial District.

Ghazala Hashmi moved to the US from India with her mother and brother when she was four. She grew up in Georgia, where her father taught at a local university. She attended Georgia Southern University and later earned a PhD in American literature from Emory University.

Ghazala Hashmi spent nearly 30 years in higher education before entering politics. She taught literature at Reynolds Community College in Richmond and served as the founding director of...