by Joseph D. Elie

As we approach the culmination of the 2025 election season this Tuesday, political prognosticators in Virginia perceive the races for governor and lieutenant governor to be tightening. Both contests are remarkable for the stark contrast of style and substance between the candidates, especially those vying to lead the state senate as lieutenant governor.

John Reid has a broad background in business and politics while Ghazala Hashmi is a former academic elected to the state senate in 2019. Reid has been itinerant and tireless on the hustings, canvassing the entirety of the Commonwealth since relinquishing his popular talk radio show in January. Hashmi, reclusive in comparison to Reid, has perhaps been trying to find her muse while she dodges debates and holds press conferences by invitation only.

Recently, the Islam-promoting political action committee Emgage Action and its website Defend & Advance proclaimed Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral front-runner, and Ghazala Hashmi to be their “Star Candidates.” The PAC, which mobilizes Muslims for “collective action,” has been linked to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which is considered by many to be associated with advocating for Islamic supremacy.

Questions now naturally arise for these two Muslim candidates as they cultivate their disparate electorates. How similar are they on the issues? Does Hashmi think Mamdani’s views are shared by the majority of Virginians? Do Mamdani and Hashmi agree with Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones that “only when people feel pain personally do they then move on to policy?”

Perhaps as a nod to the success President Trump has had with his nationalist populist message, Mamdani has adopted a populist message of his own. The essential difference between the two is the reason each ascribes to the problems we currently deal with as Americans, such as the high cost of living. Trump attacks the Deep State and crony capitalism — the oligarchy. Mamdani seems to blame America itself. He has not condemned the Hamas demonstrations against Israel in New York City. In these protests, Hamas supporters openly chant “Death to Israel” and “Death to the West.”

As an eloquent champion of Jeffersonian ideals, John Reid espouses the principles of limited government and federalism. Reid has had a variety of professional experiences in both the public and private sectors. He is a native Virginian who has earned tremendous grassroots support on a shoestring budget, and is very much in tune with the myriad “kitchen table” problems Virginians face every day — from jobs and the economy to education and cultural issues.

Unlike Mamdani, Hashmi has been trying to fly under the radar. Hashmi could not stomach a debate against John Reid, yet wants to lead the Virginia Senate. Since Hashmi doesn’t campaign or say much, we can only infer what views she might hold and how she might govern, but we can ascertain that her political philosophy is not aligned with average Virginians from something she actually did say.

In an education subcommittee discussion in 2023, Hashmi said, “We seem to focus on sexually explicit material. I don’t really care about that.“ Since Hashmi otherwise wants to play politics so close to the vest, we can only speculate she might be a surreptitious supporter of Sharia Law. She certainly has not afforded us an occasion for her to suggest otherwise.

The problem becomes not so much who Mamdani and Hashmi are right now, but how our society changes over time as it continues to add more immigrants who don’t have any intention of assimilating. We’re currently engaged in a battle for the future of Western civilization because Islamo-Marxism and our founding principles of individual liberty and self-determination cannot mutually coexist.

The history of Islam is one of conquest. Their object is still to conquer the West, and that conflict has lasted 14 centuries. Western Europe, and in the United Kingdom, with unchecked immigration over the past decade, are dealing with an existential crisis, and the Islamo-Marxist coalition here in the United States is now obviously seeking to accelerate our own decline. The freedoms we enjoy in Western civilization are clearly threatened, as polls have shown a majority of Muslims in the United States support Sharia Law.

Fortunately, we still live in a republic and we can make the right choices in the Commonwealth of Virginia on Tuesday, November 4, by voting for a straight Republican ticket. We have a strong slate of candidates: Winsome Sears, John Reid, and Jason Miyares. So, after all the millions of dollars have been spent and all the sage politicos have weighed in, the voters of Virginia will be the final arbiters, and we shall see what kind of future we have in store.

Will Virginia, a mainstay in the founding of the nation, be a precursor to its decline? Or will voters, buoyed by the record number of new jobs and new businesses during the Youngkin administration, choose to keep the Commonwealth on the path of common sense.

Joseph D. Elie is a Virginia Military Institute alumnus, Marine combat veteran, and Republican speechwriter.”\