Apart from Zohran Mamdani's historic win two more Indian Americans also made equally significant gains in the mayoral elections in United States.
Ghazala Hashmi won the race for Virginia Lieutenant Governor, while Aftab Pureval, the Indian-origin mayor of Cincinnati and the city’s first Asian American mayor, secured a second term.
IMAGE: American politicians Ghazala Hashmi and Aftab Pureval. Photograph: @SenatorHashmi/X; @AftabPureval/X
India-born American politician Ghazala Hashmi has been elected as Virginia's Lieutenant Governor, becoming the first Muslim and South Asian American to be elected to the top political post in the state.
Hashmi, 61, a Democrat secured 1,465,634 votes (54.2 per cent), way ahead of her Republican rival John Reid, who secured 1,232,242 votes, with 79 per cent of the votes in.
The Virginia State Senator, who emerged victorious on Election Day Tuesday, was among the over 30 Indian-Americans and South Asian candidates running for office for key nationwide positions in the 2025 elections.
Hashmi's election was among the most-closely watched as she was in the fray for the top state post.
Hashmi is the first Muslim and the first South Asian American to serve in the Virginia Senate.
“As an experienced educator and advocate of inclusive values and social justice, her legislative priorities include public education, voting rights and the preservation of democracy, reproductive freedom, gun violence prevention, the environment, housing and affordable healthcare access,” her official profile said.
Community organisation The Indian American Impact Fund congratulated Hashmi on her historic victory in the General Election for Virginia's Lieutenant Governor.
As part of its commitment to electing barrier-breaking leaders, Impact said it had invested USD 175,000 in Hashmi's campaign to mobilise voters and strengthen representation at every level of government.
Executive Director of the Indian American Impact Fund Chintan Patel described Hashmi's victory as a landmark moment for the community, Commonwealth and democracy.
“An immigrant, educator and tireless advocate, she has dedicated her life to expanding opportunity and delivering results for working families across Virginia. From reproductive freedom and affordable healthcare to public education and housing equity, Ghazala Hashmi has led on the issues that matter most to Virginians,” Patel said.
Hashmi was first elected to office in November 2019, upsetting the Republican incumbent and delivering the majority to Democrats for the first time in years and shocking the political establishment.
Indian American Impact Fund noted that Hashmi had made history in 2019 with her victory, flipping the Republican-held seat to help Democrats take control of the State Senate.
“Tonight she's made history again as Virginia's first South Asian American and Muslim Lieutenant Governor. Impact was proud to support her from the very beginning because we knew what was at stake: protecting our rights, defending our communities from MAGA extremism, and expanding opportunity for all who call Virginia home.”
In 2024, Hashmi was named Chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee. As a state Senator, Ghazala has dedicated her efforts to improving the lives of others, focusing on issues of inequity in housing, education, health care, environmental justice and much more.
Hashmi was four years old when she emigrated to the US with her mother and older brother from India, joining her father in Georgia where he was pursuing his PhD in international relations and beginning his university teaching career.
She grew up in that small college town, at a time when public schools were being desegregated, and so she saw firsthand how communities can be built and dialogue promoted through intentional efforts to bridge cultural, racial, and socioeconomic divides, her campaign said.
After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class and receiving multiple full scholarships and fellowships, Hashmi earned a BA with honours from Georgia Southern University and her PhD in American literature from Emory University in Atlanta.
Hashmi and her husband, Azhar, moved as newlyweds to the Richmond area in 1991, and she spent nearly 30 years as a professor, first teaching at the University of Richmond and then at Reynolds Community College.
While at Reynolds, she also served as the Founding Director of the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL).
Indian-origin Cincinnati mayor wins second term, defeats VP JD Vance's half-brother
Indian-origin mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, Aftab Pureval won a second term defeating Republican challenger Cory Bowman, the half-brother of Vice President JD Vance, local media reported.
Pureval's Tuesday victory cements Democrats' control of Cincinnati's local government and adds to Pureval's growing profile in Ohio politics, Fox News reported on Tuesday (local time).
Pureval, 43, a former special assistant US attorney, first claimed the mayor's office in 2021 after winning nearly 66 per cent of the vote, the report said.
Pureval's Tibetan mother fled Communist Chinese occupation as a child and grew up in a Southern Indian refugee camp, while his father is Punjabi.
Pureval began his political career in 2015, running for Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.
He easily defeated opponent Bowman during the May open primary, winning over 80 per cent of the vote. As both men were the top two vote-getters in the primary, they proceeded to compete in the November general election, The Hill reported.
His opponent, Bowman, never held public office but was inspired to run after his half-brother, J D Vance, was inaugurated, Fox reported.
Though Vance remained on the sidelines during Bowman's campaign, he voiced his support for his half-brother on social media, calling him "a good guy with a heart for serving his community," and urged followers to "get out there and vote for him." Fox reported.
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