State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi has secured the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, becoming the first Muslim and first Indian American nominated for a statewide office in Virginia.

Spanberger, who ran for the Democratic nomination unopposed, will battle Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the governor's race. The female nominees all but guarantee that Virginia will have a woman for governor, which is a first in the state's some 250-year history dating back to Patrick Henry's governorship.

Virginia Democratic state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi won a six-way primary on Wednesday to become the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor, the end to a two-day contest in which Hashmi narrowly defeated her top competitor by less than 1%.