Rep. Tom Perriello, whose career we have chronicled here at the Prospect from his first campaign, to his first days in office, to his final days of campaigning last week, appears to have lost to his Republican opponent, state Sen. Robert Hurt. Perriello’s mentor in the House, long-serving Virginia Democrat Rep. Rick Boucher, was also ousted today. From my story about Perriello’s campaign last week:
But the region’s economy has struggled not just during this recession but for a decade. When Perriello, an economic populist, was first elected, unemployment in some Southside towns was 18 percent. Now it’s breaking into the 20s. Hurt says this is Democrats’ fault, an enticing message to frustrated people who have been told for a long time that government is the problem. Perriello is counting on voters recognizing that their problems are part of a broader economic dislocation and that there aren’t many answers behind Robert Hurt’s identity politics.
If Perriello can beat the odds tomorrow, it is not only his reputation, and the president’s, that will be burnished. If the election, as expected, ends with many Blue Dogs headed home, Perriello’s methods will be the subject of more favorable attention. Should he lose, the voices who call for a more timid Democratic Party will have a point in their favor. But even if he fails tomorrow, Democrats shouldn’t count him out: Some speculate he could make a bid against incumbent state Attorney General — and Tea Party favorite — Ken Cuccinelli.
For progressives who saw Perriello as the antidote to the traditional problems of red-state Democrats, this loss stings. And yet he is still over-performing: In a district where Republicans hold a 7-point registration advantage, Perriello is losing by just about 5 points in early returns during a Republican “wave.” I’m guessing we haven’t heard the last of him, either in an executive branch position or a future run for office.
— Tim Fernholz
