Democrat state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi became the new lieutenant governor of Virginia on Saturday, taking the oath of office as she placed her left hand on the Quran.
In video footage posted on social media, Hashmi was seen being instructed to place her left hand on the Quran and to raise her right hand.
Hashmi defeated radio host John Reid in Virginia’s election in November 2025.
As Breitbart News’s Hannah Knudsen reported, during the campaign Reid “identified himself as someone who has ‘very strong principles,’” while Hashmi “appealed to her status as a diverse candidate.”:
He identified himself as someone who has “very strong principles,” adding that his goal is to “find points of commonality and common ground between Republicans and Democrats to see if we can actually work through some of the problems that have plagued us for decades, and to beat back some of the crazy, I think, radical social justice warrior ideas.”
Meanwhile, Hashmi, a Muslim, appealed to her status as a diverse candidate, despite the fact that her opponent is openly gay.
Democrat Abigail Spanberger was also sworn as Virginia’s new governor and first female in the position.
Spanberger defeated former Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) in the gubernatorial election in November, and will replace former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who was term-limited.
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