Perriello Solidifies Lead In Va. 05

Democratic challenger Tom Perriello has ousted Republican incumbent Virgil Goode in Virginia's 5th Congressional district.

Returns in the district have see-sawed back and forth over the past couple of days as county boards of elections conducted a canvass of their results in a standard audit/correction process that is now complete, with Perriello leading by 745 votes. Complete details can be found at the Virginia Board of Elections website.

What happens from here? The VBE will meet, on Monday, November 24, to certify the results of all elections that took place in the Commonwealth on Nov. 4.

A losing candidate then has 10 days to request a recount. As a practical matter, however, in Virginia a recount is really just another audit process, as most jurisdictions use voting machines and there are no individual ballots to be "recounted." The recount is supervised by a panel of state court judges. In recent years, recounts of close elections in Virginia have resulted in precious few votes changing hands. For more info on Virginia recounts, go here.

We're quite confident Perriello's margin is more than enough to ensure his victory.

WAY TO GO TOM!

Perriello Versus Goode

Awhile back we noted that newcomer Democrat Tom Perriello is giving incumbent Republican Virgil Goode a run for his money down in Virginia's 5th Congressional District.

Yesterday, Virgil voted against the so-called "bailout" plan.

A lot of Americans clearly don't understand either the plan or what is happening or what could happen. However, we think Virgil's vote opens a big door for Perriello.

Only time will tell.

DC Fundraiser for Tom Perriello

A little while back, we wrote about Tom Perriello, Democratic candidate for Congress in Virginia's 5th Congressional District, which includes Charlottesville. (See "Meet Tom Perriello.")

Tom is running against Virgil Goode, an incumbent Republican somewhat to the right of Attila the Hun. Tom's been effective at raising money and has made it into a competitive race.

You can come out and support Tom at a D.C. fundraiser next Monday evening (June 23), from 6:30-8:00 pm, hosted by Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro at her home on Capitol Hill. Minimum contribution is a mere $100. For more info, go to the campaign website, or email lisa@perrielloforcongress.com.

Meet Tom Perriello

Nothing at all is happening in the presidential race, so let's turn to Congress for a minute.

Recently, we've heard a lot, from a variety of independent sources, about a fellow named Tom Perriello who is running as a Democrat to unseat GOP incumbent Virgil Goode in Virginia's Fifth Congressional District. (Goode was elected to Congress in 1996 as a Democrat, but jumped to the Republican Party in 2002--had he stayed a Democrat, he'd probably chair a decent committee right now.)

You may recall Virgil as the jerk who objected to Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison, a Muslim, being sworn in on a Koran that once belonged to Thomas Jefferson. (Don't confuse Goode with his almost equally conservative counterpart from the neighboring Sixth District, Bob "Starbucks" Goodlatte.)

From all that we've learned so far, Perriello is a good guy who's generating some buzz and has demonstrated an ability to raise some decent money. It certainly won't be easy for him to unseat the Virgilmeister. Virginia's 5th District spans a swath of largely rural south-central Virgnia. The one bit of good news for Perriello is that this district includes rapidly growing Charlottesville, which is considerably more liberal-minded than most of the rest of the district, and also serves as a decent money base.

Perriello grew up in Albemarle County, near Charlottesville, then went off to Yale--both undergrad and law school--before embarking on a career of fighting atrocities in Africa and founding various organizations to help Africans and other dispossessed people of the world find justice.

For more information, go to Perriello's campaign website. The campaign is currently trying to raise enough money to convince the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that it's a race worth investing in, so feel free to kick in a few bucks!

We'll keep an eye on Mr. Perriello and try to let you know how he's doing. It's an uphill battle, no doubt, but then look at what Jim Webb accomplished!