5th District candidates close in fund race

After months of campaigning and fundraising, the two candidates in the 5th District House race have raised roughly the same amount of money.

Final campaign finance reports show that six-term incumbent Republican Congressman Virgil Goode has raised a total of $1,347,116 during this election, about $15,000 more than his Democratic challenger, Albemarle County native Tom Perriello, who raised $1,331,712.

Goode collected $532,750 in contributions between July 1 and Sept. 30, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. During that same period, Perriello raised $412,488.

“I was pleased that we were able to out-raise Mr. Perriello this quarter,” Goode said in a written statement Friday.  “I am especially grateful to the contributors from across the Fifth District who once again outpaced the large number of New Yorkers and other out-of-staters who contributed to my opponent.”

About 75 percent of Goode’s contributions came from individual donors, reports indicate, while $321,553 in corporate and non-corporate political action committees (PACs) account for 24 percent of his war chest.

Individual contributions account for about 94 percent of Perriello’s donations and about 5 percent of his donations came from non-corporate PACs.

Goode received more than 10 times as much money from the Danville and Pittsylvania County area than Perriello, with $59,617 in funds from the Dan River Region, compared to $5,008 for Perriello.

The Rocky Mount Republican has raised nearly $40,000 from Danville alone during the 2008 campaign. Key contributors include $2,300 each from Ben and Betty Davenport, Robert Woodall and Darrell Wiseman. Goode received $2,000 each from Richard Barkhouser and Mildred Barkhouser, as well as George Buchanan.

Nearly $20,000 has been raised for Goode’s campaign from people living in Chatham, along with $4,000 from people in Gretna and nearly another $4,000 from other communities in the county.

While much of Perriello’s initial campaign money came from out-of-state Democratic Party donations, the Perriello campaign says the majority of its 5,000 donors came from the 5th District.

In Danville, key Perriello contributions include $1,000 from Valerie Hoffman; $600 from Wanda Bass; $500 from Patricia Grigoryev; $400 from Mary and Eric Davidson; $333 from James W. Harper III; and $300 from Roy N. Ford Jr.

“I am so grateful for all the $5 and $10 donations that have come in from around the district. We’ve proven that a people-powered campaign can go toe-to-toe with an entrenched incumbent funded by the special interests,” Perriello said in a written statement earlier this week.

Staff writer Bernard Baker contributed to this report.

Contact Sarah Arkin at or (434) 791-7983.