VA-SD15: Special election for Hashmi's (D) Richmond-area Senate seat set for Jan. 6
Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, has set a Jan. 6 special election to fill the soon-to-be vacant seat of Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Richmond, clearing the way for a fast, intraparty fight in one of the state’s safest Democratic districts.
Two Democrats — Del. Debra Gardner of Chesterfield County and Del. Michael Jones of Richmond — have already launched campaigns to succeed Hashmi. The party has not yet set its nomination process, though officials expect a firehouse primary given the compressed calendar.
Hashmi, first elected to the Senate in 2019, won the lieutenant governorship last month and will vacate the 15th District seat just a year into her second term.
Under state law, the responsibility for calling a special election falls to the Senate’s highest-ranking member while the chamber remains in session. Lucas, a Hampton Roads Democrat who has long held the pro tempore role, exercised that authority after weeks of anticipation from party leaders.
https://virginiamercury.com/briefs/special-election-for-hashmis-richmond-area-senate-seat-set-for-jan-6/