Democrat Virginia state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi was elected to serve as Virginia’s lieutenant governor Tuesday night, defeating Republican strategist and radio host John Reid.
Hashmi won the election with 53.4% of the vote, while Reid garnered 46.3%, according to the Associated Press. Of the three major Virginia elections, this is the second race called in favor of the Democrats.
Polls had Reid and Hashmi polling neck and neck.
Although the race was projected to be neck and neck into election night, Hashmi pulled ahead by over 145,000 votes.
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Throughout the election cycle, Virginia Democrats were plagued with scandals related to violent and extreme rhetoric. Attorney General candidate Jay Jones infamously fantasized about murdering his political opponents, and Hashmi was on the record tolerating explicit content in children’s classrooms.
“One of my concerns is violence. We seem to focus on sexually explicit material,” Hashmi said in a video obtained by Blaze News. “I don’t really care about that.”
“We teach the books that other people try to ban,” Hashmi said.
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Despite this, polls had Reid and Hashmi polling neck and neck.
Reid spent his time on the campaign trail focusing on the economy, lowering taxes, and slashing regulations, as well as defending law enforcement. Reid repeatedly called out Hashmi’s progressive track record.
Hashmi made abortion access a core value for her campaign despite Virginia’s lenient laws that allow abortion up to the third trimester. Hashmi also campaigned on tightening gun restrictions, as well as pitching herself as the anti-Trump candidate.
Although these social issues are not a priority for most of the state’s voters, Virginians ultimately cast their ballots in Hashmi’s favor.
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