Tom PerrielloTom Perriello

“Tom Perriello has dedicated his career to public service, democratic engagement, and the belief that government should work for ordinary people, not powerful special interests. His commitment to protecting our democracy and expanding opportunity makes him exactly the kind of leader Virginia needs in Congress.”

The incumbent Representative is Republican John McGuire, and Tom Perriello is running to kick McGuire out of the U.S. House and win the fight for Virginia's Fifth Congressional District. In 2008, Tom flipped one of Virginia's most conservative congressional districts. He fought for Wall Street accountability and earned an A+ from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Tom even stood up to intense pressure from corporate lobbyists to cast a courageous vote for the Affordable Care Act — guaranteeing coverage for more than 32,000 people in his district and making it illegal to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. After Congress, Tom kept fighting to reduce prescription drug prices, expand Medicaid coverage for more than 600,000 Virginians, and prevent our rural health clinics from closing. Tom has led organizations that fought for more affordable healthcare, stronger voting rights and reproductive freedoms, and doubling the minimum wage. The son of Linda and Vito Perriello, Tom still lives outside Charlottesville. He is an Eagle Scout from Troop 114 and a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School. His parents and his parish taught him to live a life of service, to treat compassion as a verb, and to understand that love of neighbor does not stop at the end of your street. Tom has 7 godchildren and is the proud uncle of 10 nieces and nephews.

Former Rep. Tom Perriello pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the cycle in 2008, when he defeated a six-term Republican incumbent by 727 votes. He is hoping to repeat this upset in 2026, running against unpopular first-term Rep. John McGuire. While Trump won by 12.2% in 2024, his margin was more narrow in 2020, at 8.2%. Perriello has outraised McGuire and is putting together a strong operation that can turn out voters in every corner of the district.

Perriello is the last Democrat to represent the 5th Congressional District, having served one term from 2009 until 2011. A supporter of the creation of the Affordable Care Act, he was defeated by former state Sen. Robert Hurt in 2010.

More recently, he was the United States Special Envoy for Sudan under former President Joe Biden. In his launch video, Perriello said that things are out of control because of Republicans in Washington and that he's running because it's an "all hands on deck" moment.

He told VPM News that voters "deserve a representative who is going to listen to them and fight for their priorities, instead of trying to just focus on the priorities of the President or other people."

For more information see Tom's website

Are you in Virginia’s 5th congressional district? Good news, you can vote for Tom Perriello! See our endorsement here, and learn more about his platform here.

Born and raised in the Charlottesville area, Tom Perriello is a lifelong native of Virginia and the Blue Ridge who has spent his career fighting corruption and standing up to the powerful on behalf of working people. In 2008, Tom was elected to Congress and provided a courageous vote for the passage of the Affordable Care Act — lowering costs and increasing access to health care for Virginians, even when it meant sacrificing his seat. He has proven he will put Virginia families above all else, and that he doesn’t answer to anybody but the people he serves.