Recount confirms Perriello victory

A recount confirmed yesterday that Democrat Tom Perriello defeated Republican Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. and will be the new representative in Virginia's 5th Congressional District.

Goode gained 18 votes in the two-day recount but still trailed by 727 votes.

The win will give Democrats a 6-to-5 edge over Republicans in Virginia's U.S. House delegation in the new Congress. Perriello will be sworn in Jan. 6 to represent the district.

Six weeks after the race and three weeks after the state certified Perriello the winner, Goode conceded.

"I congratulate Mr. Perriello and wish him well as he represents the Fifth District," said Goode, who represented the district for the last 12 years, first as a Democrat.

Goode said he sent Perriello a congratulatory e-mail with the same sentiments.

"I'm gratified that after an exhaustive democratic process, we now can say with certainty that this election is over," said Perriello, 34, in a statement.

The Virginia State Board of Elections last month certified Perriello as the winner by 745 votes, but the margin of less than a quarter of a percentage point entitled Goode to a recount at taxpayer expense.

Both men expressed disappointment in the court denying a motion filed by both candidates to count absentee ballots that arrived after Election Day -- many believed to be from military personnel stationed overseas.

Goode, 62, has served in a political office for 35 years. In 1973 at age 27, the lifelong Franklin County resident was elected to the Virginia Senate, where he served until 1996, when he won election to the 5th District House seat.
Contact Neil H. Simon at (202) 662-7669 or .

The Associated Press contributed to this report.