 After winning the Democratic primary by 44 votes, Rasoul received nearly 70% of the vote over his Republican opponent Octavia Johnson in the general election.He was inducted into office on January 8, 2014.In September 2016 he initiated House Joint Resolution 541 to the Virginia House of Delegates, a proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution for "top two open primaries" for various Virginia elections, in which candidates from opposing parties would run on one ballot.