Any word on what the margins are? Whether the military ballots were counted? Statements from either side?

Posted by Shaun Kenney on 17 December 02008 @ 5pm

According to news reports, the recount gained Goode just 18 votes; final margin was 727. (That story also includes the statements from the two camps.) No word on the military ballots.

Posted by Redshift on 17 December 02008 @ 6pm

That’s all coming out now. Perriello won by 727 votes, and the military ballots were not counted, over the objections of both campaigns. The Perriello campaign issued this statement:

Congressman-elect Tom Perriello Reaffirmed Winner after 5th District Recount

December 17, 2008—Ivy, VA—After an extensive, bipartisan vote canvass and then an official district-wide recount, a three-judge panel reaffirmed today that Congressman-elect Tom Perriello won the fifth district race. Perriello will represent Virginia’s Fifth District in the 111th Congress, and will be sworn in on January 6th, 2009. Congressman-elect Perriello released the following statement:

“I’m gratified that after an exhaustive democratic process, we now can say with certainty that this election is over, and the fifth district has asked me to fight for jobs and economic relief in Washington. I am humbled that the voters have entrusted me with this sacred duty, and I am eager to represent the entire district as we work together to put our communities back on the path to economic revival.”

“When people ask how we were able to come from 34-points behind to win in a district that John McCain carried, I tell them of our commitment to a people-powered campaign, fueled by thousands of individuals and the largest grassroots network the district has ever seen. We showed with this historic upset that people are ready to trade in the old politics of fear and division for a new style of positive, solutions-oriented public service.”

“I thank the hundreds of elected officials and volunteers from both sides who put in overtime this holiday season to ensure an accurate final count. I am disappointed that the court denied my request to count the votes of those brave men and women serving overseas that arrived after the deadline, even though it would not have altered the outcome. I pledge that standing up for our servicemen and women overseas and our veterans as they return home will always be a priority for me. Again, I want to thank all of those who worked tirelessly over the past few days and weeks to ensure a fair and accurate vote count.”

“As I first declared in Martinsville after the vote canvass was completed last month, my double-shift working for the people of the fifth district is well underway. Through my on-going listening tour of the district, our Shop the Fifth program, and our transition team, we have not changed our pace or our focus on economic recovery. We face immense challenges in our district and our nation, but the urgency of this moment also presents us with an opportunity to invest in our infrastructure, the new energy economy, and America’s new competitive advantage. We are not Democrats or Republicans in this crisis, but Americans, with a common struggle and a common future, and I promise to work a double shift every day for the good of our district.”

I’ve heard nothing from Goode so far. Six months ago, I’d have forecast that he’d be gracious in defeat. Now, honestly, I expect some classless kvetching about how Perriello hates our troops, the courts are stacked against Republicans, “New York lawyers,” etc.

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 17 December 02008 @ 6pm

Goode’s statement:

ROCKY MOUNT, VA – - 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.

I extend special thanks and appreciation to all the volunteers who worked as observers and in other ways during this recount process. I am also grateful for the election officials that conducted the recount.

Bit disappointed about the military votes not counting. I will assume that if they were in numbers that would have affected the outcome (anything over 727 votes) they would have been counted and fairly.

Perriello wins after being down by 34 points. Don’t care who you are, that’s one heck of a campaign.

Congratulations to the Congressman-elect.

Posted by Shaun Kenney on 17 December 02008 @ 6pm

Here’s hoping that Goode maintains the high tone he established in his statement—that’s certainly a good start.

And, yeah, from 34 points down? Amazing. Not only would I never have seen it coming, I didn’t.

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 17 December 02008 @ 6pm

Shaun,

I believe it was somewhere in between 9 and 60-some late overseas/military votes, District-wide. These are figures I heard at training and again yesterday at the recount.

There may have been more, but I believe that these were the ones accepted by the court, in case they ruled they could be counted (or something like that; not a lawyer).

It was the closest election I can remember since 2005, and Cumberland County was much closer than I would have predicted.

Posted by Mark Brooks on 17 December 02008 @ 10pm

Waldo –

I was awoken yesterday by a gathering of noisy crows. Naturally, I thought of you. And wished I had a gun.

Posted by Jones on 18 December 02008 @ 1am

Saturday?

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 18 December 02008 @ 8am

Mark –

I assumed as such. Regardless, Perriello needs to write the how-to manual, and I hope it doesn’t start with “money — LOTS OF IT — and from out of state!!!”

Of course, in the back of my head, Perriello is going to have one heck of a re-election… it’s not as if the 5th is a match, though if he can hang on until 2010, then redistricting comes to the rescue and the long dreamed of Central Virginia district comes into play.

Still think the “fair tax” ad was the killer. Got my attention, anyhow.

Posted by Shaun Kenney on 18 December 02008 @ 11am

Tom had better hope that Daddy Warbucks (George Soros) buys his reelection like he bought this one.

Posted by I.Publius on 19 December 02008 @ 12pm

For a minute, I thought I.P. was talking about Albert Finney or somebody else.

I get it; Soros once gave money to Move-On, Obama was endorsed by Move-On, Tom was endorsed by Obama, therefore, George Soros paid for Tom’s win.

Yeah, that is a clear connection to Tom.

Posted by Mark Brooks on 19 December 02008 @ 2pm

George Soros is a terrible, brilliant, benighted guy. Tom is not like that (except for the smart part.)

Posted by Will on 19 December 02008 @ 9pm

Mark, surely you’re not as uninformed as you seem.

http://www.martinsvilledaily.com/?p=892

It’s common knowledge that Virginia’s latest carpetbagging Democrat was bankrolled by Soros. Why run from it? Embrace what your party has become.

Posted by I.Publius on 20 December 02008 @ 10pm

That link goes to a letter from Tucker Watkins, Goode’s right-hand man and the chair of the Fifth District Republicans. Tucker’s not exactly impartial. Since Tucker made no effort to document the source of those figures, I have a tough time accepting his claims at face value.

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 20 December 02008 @ 10pm

It’s common knowledge that Virginia’s latest carpetbagging Democrat…

Now this just shows you how deluded you are, IP. Do we need to get Tom’s birth certificate showing he was born in or around Charlottesville?

You must have forgotten the fact-gathering portion of your comment.

Tucker Watkins is a veteran who disrespected fellow veterans by inventing and handing out ‘Purple Heart’ bandaids at the 2004 Republican convention. This is something I will never forgive him for, and I wouldn’t believe him if he told me it was winter. He is a dishonorable man, and I have no use for him.

Posted by Mark Brooks on 21 December 02008 @ 1am

Well let’s put things to rest right now:

http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/HSRefreshCandList.do?category=disH&stateName=VA&congressId=05

Check out the money trail. Just judging from a quick scan alone, about half of Perriello’s contributions came from out of state, but a sizeable portion was raised right here in Virginia (and of that, mostly in the 5th).

Now there is a very clear connection between George Soros and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.

http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1496

I won’t go into all the Form 990’s, nor do I expect substituting “shooting the messenger” will suffice for a refutation (at least here, anyhow). CL is right about this, and at least in Catholic circles the connection is well-known and well established.

Now it would be pure speculation to say that the out-of-state individual donations had some connection with Perriello’s previous work. Certainly, his stay in New York brought him some worthwhile contacts, as did some of his overseas contacts.

But did Soros cut a check to Perriello? Pfft.

Now it’s safe to say that Soros’ interests and Perriello’s cross at some point, especially with regards as to the definition of a “good Catholic” in the public square.

As for Perriello’s motives… rather that speculate, I’d rather just flat out ask the guy (or at least raise the question). That’s what the campaign season was for.

Here’s another interesting item from the FEC reports — Goode outspent Perriello by a good $100K. Perriello ended up $30K in debt, while Goode ended up $200K in the good.

Now I have no idea what the 527 money was like, and it can probably be safely assumed that it was heavily in Perriello’s favor.

Still, three things remain outstanding, (1) Perriello ran a great campaign, (2) Goode did not, and squandered a 31% lead in doing so, and (3) Perriello doesn’t come close to matching his district.

Tough facts, but there they are.

Posted by Shaun Kenney on 21 December 02008 @ 11am

Shaun,

Thank you for bringing facts and some sanity back to the discussion, and I admit I have been pretty cynical.

Part of the problem I am having is that somehow, George Soros, whose charitable donations run into the high six-figures if not more, is somehow a catch-all bogeyman for some conservatives. The oversimplification drives me nuts. Soros=liberals=dfh=etc. His money does lots more good in areas that have nothing to do with politics. I certainly don’t need to defend him here in that regard.

Absolutely, everyone should speak up for what they believe. I am just completely fed up with the misdirection and steering to other issues. I try to be honest in my discussions with everyone, and I don’t think it is too much to ask for that courtesy and respect in return.

Unlike some other evil liberals, I don’t use disparaging terms for Republicans as a group, or as individuals. Of course, choice terms that I use to describe some people are colorful… ;)

I understand what you are saying about Tom. He is someone I don’t know well, unlike some previous candidates. I do get a feeling of overwhelmingly wholesome values and behavior, and that’s got to be worth something. His parents are nice people. I can feel good about my Congressman again. No Ellison letters, etc.

Since I live in the 5th, maybe that’s a question I should ask Tom; “…what should we know about your relationship with CACG? How do you achieve a delicate balance between your public life in Congress, and your spiritual life and activism?”

I do know that whatever his campaign was doing, it seems to have worked. I am happy he won, and I look forward to watching his progress in Congress.

Lastly, I am making a public apology to Shaun. In the last couple years, there have been instances where I have not been very respectful to you, and it has bothered me ever since. I have always felt you were someone who I could talk with ever since we met in 2005.

I apologize, and I promise to try to do better (and keep my Irish temper better in line lol)

Happy Holidays to everyone. Even you, Waldo! :)

Posted by Mark Brooks on 21 December 02008 @ 12pm

Lastly, I am making a public apology to Shaun. In the last couple years, there have been instances where I have not been very respectful to you, and it has bothered me ever since. I have always felt you were someone who I could talk with ever since we met in 2005.

I apologize, and I promise to try to do better (and keep my Irish temper better in line lol)

That’s nice to see. I wish more people would acknowledge such errors.

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 21 December 02008 @ 12pm

Oh, I think the DCCC and other money for Tom was about $1.2m and the RNC/NRCC was about $200k, if I recall correctly. Waldo had an article about it here:

http://waldo.jaquith.org/blog/2008/12/perriello-good-report/

Posted by Mark Brooks on 21 December 02008 @ 12pm

Mark — apology accepted, and I’m always free to bounce ideas around anytime.

The point about the DCCC is pretty notable in and of itself… NRCC didn’t see this one coming, or they thought that they could pick the seat back up in 2010. The dee-trip on the other hand saw an advantage…

The date when they chose to come play in VA-05 might be interesting in and of itself. Wonder what tipped the scales?

Posted by Shaun Kenney on 21 December 02008 @ 2pm

Its funny how Virg lost this election probably by exactly the amount of Muslims who changed their mind about him when he made his famous “I stand by what I said” crap about Muslims after Keith Ellison used TJ’s Holy Quran for his swearing in ceremony. I personally know 250 or so Muslims in my 5th district County who voted for Perriello as a result of Virg’s words. I as a Muslim American am darn glad Virg showed his butt that day for all to see. I love the way things just get worked out for us…

Posted by MCG on 25 December 02008 @ 10am