RICHMOND — Democratic former congressman Tom Perriello said Tuesday that he will run for his old seat representing Virginia’s 5th District in 2026, becoming the latest high-profile Democrat hoping to build on the party’s successes in this year’s statewide and legislative elections by launching a bid for Congress.
The Republican-leaning district covers part of central Virginia and is represented by Rep. John McGuire (R), who won in 2024 after a bruising primaryagainst incumbent Rep. Bob Good (R) in which the two competed to show greater loyalty to Donald Trump. The district could become much bluer if Virginia’s Democratic lawmakers act on a proposal to draw new congressional boundaries.
In announcing his candidacy, Perriello struck a pragmatic tone similar to the emphasis on affordability that helped Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) win the governor’s race in a landslide in November.
“It is not right that Virginians are working harder and harder just to afford the rising cost of food, electricity, and health care,” Perriello said in a written statement. “We shouldn’t have to pay more out of our pockets because John McGuire and this Congress are letting reckless tariffs and rampant corruption drive up prices.”
McGuire did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A former Navy SEAL and former state lawmaker, McGuire won Trump’s endorsement last year and has been an enthusiastic supporter of his policies after Trump regained the presidency. McGuire’s district favored Trump by 12 percentage points in 2024.
Several Virginia Democrats have recently launched high-profile bids for congressional seats in reliably Republican territory. Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor has drawn national party support and an endorsement from Spanberger in her campaign against incumbent Rep. Rob Wittman (R) in the 1st District. Best-selling author Beth Macyrecently announced her intention to challenge incumbent Rep. Ben Cline (R) in the 6th District.
While Democrats are hoping to build on momentum from this year’s elections — the party picked up 13 seats in the House of Delegates, and Spanberger defeated Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears by 15 percentage points — they are also wielding the possibility of drawing new congressional district lines that could heavily favor their party.
Democratic leaders in the General Assembly could advance a proposal next year that would let them create new maps, if voters approve a constitutional amendment. While the proposed amendment does not specify what the new districts would look like, House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) and Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) have both suggested they might consider creating 10 Democratic districts and a single Republican district. Virginia’s current congressional delegation has six Democrats and five Republicans.
The redistricting effort is part of a partisan arms race spurred by Trump, who has urged red states to create extra Republican-leaning districts in a bid to keep control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections of 2026.
Five other Democrats have announced plans to run for the 5th District seat, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. Del. Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke) has said he will form an exploratory committee to consider running in the 5th, 6th or 9th districts, pending possible new maps.
Perriello, 51, represented the 5th District for a single term from 2009 until 2011. He lost his reelection bid to Republican Robert Hurt after voting in favor of the Obama administration’s creation of the Affordable Care Act, which his conservative constituents criticized. In a launch video posted Tuesday, Perriello said he decided to run again because “this is an all-hands-on-deck moment.”
Perriello also made an unexpected bid for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2017, challenging establishment favorite Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (who went on to win the general election) and showing the new strength of the more liberal wing of the party. Since then, Perriello has served in a variety of diplomatic and nonprofit roles.
He was special envoy for the African Great Lakes region and the Democratic Republic of Congo under President Barack Obama and served in a similar role in Sudan under President Joe Biden. Perriello served as executive director of the Open Society Foundation in the United States from 2018 to 2023, working on public causes funded by liberal philanthropist George Soros.
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