VA-05: PERRIELLO DECLARES VICTORY!!!
By: faithfull
Published On: 11/7/2008 3:47:18 PM
"The outcome is certain," Perriello told jubilant supporters at 3 p.m. "We've won."
Perriello:
"We have defied the pundits," he said. "We have defied the odds. Through faith, through hard work and through knowing that at the end of the day this campaign was about bringing jobs back to the people of Southside Virginia."
At 3 pm in Martinsville today, Tom Perriello will announce that he has won Virginia's Fifth Congressional District. WDBJ is planning on live streaming the announcement from their site.
Additionally, Tom just picked up 100 votes :)
| Race | Precincts In | Dem% - Rep% | Dem votes - Rep Votes | Vote +- |
| VA-05 | 100% | Perriello 50.09% - Goode 49.85% | 158,703 - 157,958 | Perriello +745 |
Congratulations Tom!
Goode, of course, grasps at straws:
With the vote counting process almost complete, it has become clear that there have been a number of reporting irregularities - including the misplacement of paper ballets and tape records from electronic machines and miscalculations in vote tallies. In fact, almost 20% of all the voting precincts in the district had reporting errors.
While current unofficial tallies have me trailing my opponent, these irregularities have cast doubt on the reported totals. It is essential that we get to the bottom of these problems and insist on a thorough and proper vote counting process. We will continue to fight to make sure that every single legitimate vote in the 5th District is accurately counted and reported."
With our three pickups in the House this week, a majority of Virginia's delegation is now Democratic (6-5).
Comments
Did Goode concede at his 1:30pm press conference? (Pain - 11/7/2008 3:57:21 PM)
He did not (DanG - 11/7/2008 4:09:43 PM)
He insisted that there were voting irregularities with provisional and absentee ballots.
I've added Goode statement to the post (faithfull - 11/7/2008 4:13:17 PM)
What's the word for Virgil Goode? (Lowell - 11/7/2008 4:14:03 PM)
Thinking, thinking...ah yes, "douchenozzle," that's it. Thank you Sarah Silverman! :)
I actually understand (DanG - 11/7/2008 4:18:45 PM)
Virgil hasn't been a practicing attorney for what, two decades? He's a career politician, what the hell is he gonna do?
he has many options (wahoomatt05 - 11/7/2008 4:36:44 PM)
He could wander the streets and yell at Latinos. He could become a gay indie film mogul. He could learn a real trade by taking up an apprenticeship with Joe the Plumber. The world is Virgil's oyster.
I have been thinking about that (Mark - 11/7/2008 7:38:27 PM)
Given his cozy relationship with lobbyists, and his 9/11/08 Lobbyist Luncheon in DC, I think he should become a lobbyist and join all his friends.
Then he can lobby Watkins Abbitt on healthcare, and they can take turns running each others expense accounts up!
AMAZING!! (GeorgetownStudent - 11/7/2008 3:59:49 PM)
I can't believe we will now have a 6-5 majority Democratic delegation in the House!!! Couple that with the fact that we voted for Obama, will have 2 Dem Senators, have a Democratic governor and a Democratic State Senate and we're TRULY a blue state.
I wonder what Hometown he is going to claim (wahoomatt05 - 11/7/2008 4:50:55 PM)
After living with Rep. Virgil Goode (R- Rocky Mount) for so long, I would love to see Rep. Tom Perriello (D - Charlottesville). But he also is originally from Albemarle county, and he voted in the Ivy area of Albemarle. But Charlottesville has such a lovely, progressive ring to it.
The only way Goode can now win this race (aznew - 11/7/2008 4:23:11 PM)
Is by effectively disenfranchising 752 voters in our District.
I hope he tries, because in making this futile effort, he will put an end to his political career forever.
Going down in a blaze of pointless idiocy would be the perfect coda for this man's career.
George Allen in '06 (uva08 - 11/7/2008 4:32:28 PM)
You know I gained an ounce of respect for George Allen in '06 when he recognized that a recount wouldn't change the results and would be just a waste of tax payer money. It appears that Goode is hell bent on wasting our money just one last time. Deeds could not shift half this margin across the whole state let alone one district.
I know this is hard for Goode (it is possible that Democrats would have held out if they were in this situation too), but hopefully he will recognize that the voters have spoken, that a recount will not change anything, and that he needs to congratulate Perriello on his victory so the 5th District can unite behind our new congressman.
Next stop: (Cliff Garstang - 11/7/2008 4:41:54 PM)
Expanding our presence in the House of Delegates. Let us expunge that last bit of red filth on our Commonwealth (while holding onto the Governorship, of course).
Tom Perriello's victory (chickox - 11/7/2008 6:20:38 PM)
Perriello's win is the 2nd greatest upset in recent Virginia political history (the 1st being George Allen's defeat in '06). This is one of the most amazing stories of the entire election. Having a young, 34 year old political rookie take down a 6 term congressman is the stuff of legends. Talk about David and Goliath and being 30 points down!
I worked hard for this ticket as many of us did, but we had no expectations for Tom. Maybe he has a chance the next time around. Wow, was I wrong.
I'm so glad we have expunged ourselves of Virgil but you know he's going to try again in 2 years. Lets work hard in 2010 to get rid of him for Goode.
Message from our next congressman (uva08 - 11/7/2008 7:29:15 PM)
Perriello sent an Email letting us know that we can stop pressing "refresh." :-) There are only 10 votes left to confirm in the district.
Congrats Congressman-elect Tom Perriello
This is fantastic. Congrats! (KathyinBlacksburg - 11/8/2008 12:25:41 PM)
To Tom and everyone in the 5th (and elsewhere) who made this happen, thank you.