Ghazala Hashmi becomes first Muslim woman elected statewide in U.S. with Va. lieutenant governor win

Virginia state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi became the first Muslim-American woman elected to statewide office in the U.S. with her victory in the lieutenant governor's race, NBC News projects.

Virginia state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi on Tuesday became the first Muslim American woman elected to statewide office in the U.S. with her victory in the lieutenant governor's race, NBC News projects.

Her historic victory comes the same night former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, whom NBC News projects as the winner in the governor's race, became the first woman elected governor in the state.

In a victory speech Tuesday night, Hashmi thanked her supporters and told them, "Together, we have carved a new historic path."

Hashmi, an immigrant, added later in her speech, "My own journey from a young child landing at the airport in Savannah to now being elected as the first Muslim woman to achieve statewide office — the first Muslim woman to achieve statewide office not just in Virginia, but in the entire country ... was possible because of the depth and the breadth of the opportunities made available in this country and in this commonwealth."

In is the second time Hashmi has made history in an election; in 2019 she was the first Muslim American woman elected to Virginia's Legislature. Since then, she has served in the statehouse representing a district southwest of Washington, D.C.