This afternoon, a three-judge panel in Albemarle Circuit Court officially shortened Tom Perriello’s title from “Presumed Congressman Elect” to “Congressman Elect.”
Of course, what they really did was certify the results of the two-day recount, which ended up shifting 18 votes to Republican incumbent Virgil Goode. Instead of winning by 745 votes, Perriello officially won by the paltry margin of 727 votes.
Perriello didn’t attend the proceedings, though his family and supporters were in abundance. But once they finished, Perriello materialized out of the ether, took the steps of the Albemarle County Courthouse, and addressed the assembled reporters.
“I’m humbled to be going to Congress as part of the 111th Congress, at a time of great economic turmoil,” said Perriello. “I’m going to work very, very hard to represent everyone in the district, not just those who supported me.”
Tom Perriello is now officially the Congressman Elect for the Fifth District.
In addition to preparing for his presumed office, Perriello and his staff had to raise $135,000 for the recount. So after so many nights working past midnight, what did the Congressman Elect do immediately after winning?
“I’m going to go to dinner with my family.”
The recount proceedings were relatively light on drama, but that doesn’t mean the attorneys didn’t figure out ways to pad their hours. The only possible point of contention was a packet of 63 absentee votes from Halifax County that broke 43-20 for Goode. Election officials didn’t know if they had been counted or not, but Perriello’s camp agreed with Goode’s camp that they should be counted, particularly since it made no difference in the outcome.
Even though the matter was settled that the votes would count, Goode’s attorney’s still wanted to give a presentation on the matter, and for 10 minutes, an attorney for Goode scribbled a series of numbers on a giant notepad that proved that it was possible that the votes should be counted. That caused the judges to retire and confer for 15 minutes before re-emerging to proclaim what everyone knew would happen anyway.
From his home in Rocky Mount, Goode issued a concession statement: “The Recount Court has certified Tom Perriello as the winner of the Fifth District Congressional race. I congratulate Mr. Perriello and wish him well as he represents the Fifth District. Although the recount made vote changes in 14 of the 22 jurisdictions, and although we gained a few votes, the recount has confirmed earlier indications that Mr. Perriello had the most votes.”