Three South Asian men and a woman of Filipino descent are vying to replace outgoing Del. John J. Bell (D-Loudoun) — the first time a primary election in the increasingly left-leaning 87th District does not include a white candidate.

Republican David Ramadan, who was born in Lebanon, represented the area for four years before deciding against seeking reelection in 2015.

Bell, who succeeded him, is running for the seat being left open by retiring conservative Sen. Richard H. Black (R).

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In a district that hasn’t favored a Republican since Ramadan narrowly won in 2013, the Democratic nominee — either Hassan Ahmad, Akshay Bhamidipati, Johanna Gusman or Suhas Subramanyam — is likely to prevail in November over Republican Bill Drennan, political analysts say.

That would add more diversity to a General Assembly that is slowly beginning to mirror the demographic changes sweeping through portions of the state. There are currently seven state lawmakers of Asian or Latino descent — compared with zero Latinos and two Asians in 2009 — and 21 members of the Legislative Black Caucus.

Two Muslim lawmakers of ­Palestinian descent — Dels. Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke) and ­Ibraheem S. Samirah (D-Fairfax) — have also recently joined the General Assembly.

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“This is one of the effects of the Donald Trump presidency,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg.

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In 2017, when Democrats picked up 14 seats in the Virginia House, candidates of color who won seats included Jennifer D. Carroll Foy (Prince William), Hala S. Ayala (Prince William), Elizabeth R. Guzman (Prince William) and Kathy Tran (Fairfax).

Their success, Farnsworth said, “has encouraged still more candidates to run in 2019.”

Harsha Sarjapur, who co-founded an online group called the Loudoun County Indian Community, said more candidates of South Asian descent are preparing to run for the school and county boards and other local offices.

“This is not just people who migrated here a few years ago,” Sarjapur said. “These are kids who have grown up here, and they want to stand up to combat some of the inequality that is happening.”

The four Democrats vying for Bell’s seat were all born in the United States. The district includes a large swath of Loudoun County, where there are 34,000 residents of Indian descent, 50,000 Latinos and a growing population of Muslims and Koreans, U.S. Census estimates show. A sliver of Prince William County is also part of the district.

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Ahmad, 42, an immigration lawyer whose parents emigrated from Pakistan, said he decided to run after trying to help people affected by President Trump’s 2017 travel ban, which sought to bar visitors from certain predominantly Muslim countries. Ahmad, who is Muslim, said he and other lawyers who went to Dulles to offer pro-bono legal representation to travelers were not allowed to meet with them. “I realized that this is what happens when we sit back and don’t elect good people who believe in an inclusive community,” he said.

Bhamidipati, a 22-year-old cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins University whose parents are from India, said he was moved to run by a lack of state and federal funding for mental health services after a close friend died by suicide last year. “It’s a really preventable disease, and we need to treat it as such,” he said.

Gusman, a human rights lawyer with a Filipino father and a German American mother, said she was angered by the General Assembly’s failure to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment this year, and by the sexual assault allegations against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D).

Subramanyam, a former technology policy adviser in the Obama White House and the son of Indian immigrants, said he is motivated by escalating health-care costs and a desire to address the lack of tougher gun regulations amid repeated mass shootings, including the one in Virginia Beach last month that left 12 people dead.

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“Whatever is going on with Trump in the White House, you can fight it at the state level,” the 32-year-old said.

All four want to expand access to affordable health care, allocate more money toward reducing traffic congestion and persuade Richmond to spend more for affordable housing and schools — making it a challenge for the candidates to distinguish themselves with voters.

Subramanyam has been endorsed by Bell, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D), and several other local Democrats, while raising $176,000.

Ahmad, who has raised $137,000, has endorsements from Ayala, state Sen. Jennifer B. Boysko (D-Fairfax) and several labor and immigration groups.

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Bhamidipati has no endorsements; he has raised $33,000.

Gusman raised $24,000 and has been backed by Emily’s List, which supports Democratic female candidates who favor abortion rights.

Drennan, the Republican who will face the winner in November, said the relative lack of name recognition for all of the Democrats plays in his favor.

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“When you’re stuck on Route 50, it doesn’t matter what your politics are,” said Drennan, 74, a retired Air Force colonel.

If elected, he said, he would advocate for more state funding for projects such as “smart” traffic lights synchronized to better handle rush-hour congestion.