2008.11.05
Goode, Perriello still await returns
Late tonight, the tightest congressional race in Virginia appears to the the 5th District, where barely 2,100 votes out of more than 300,000 cast separates Democratic challenger Tom Perriello from longtime incumbent Republican Virgil Goode.
Late in the evening, Perriello had seemed barely ahead, by 142 votes, with all but absentee ballots in Campbell and Lunenburg counties reporting. But shortly after midnight, the State Board of Elections Web site suddenly flipped more than 1,900 votes into Perriello's columns, giving him a 2,101 lead, though neither candidate was declaring victory or conceding.
It appears the result of that race won't be announced until later Wednesday, if then.
At this point, it doesn't appear Goode is close enough for a mandatory recount -- he's just about seven-tenths of a percentage point behind Perriello. The state performs a mandatory recount for any race decided by less than five-tenths of a percentage point. But Goode could make up some votes in the absentee ballots, because he's winning in both Campbell and Lunenburg counties. Whether those will take him into recount territory is anyone's guess.
"This is a close race but I am confident that once all of the votes are counted I will be re-elected to represent the 5th Congressional District of Virginia," Goode said. "We have a comprehensive operation in place to make sure that every legitimate vote is counted."
Earlier in the evening, Perriello release his own statement:
"We are confident that when all the votes are counted, we will maintain our lead and there will be a change in leadership in the 5th district," he said.
-- Dan Casey
