Tom Perriello beat the Republican incumbent in Virginia's 5th Congressional district by the skin of his teeth in 2008. No surprise then that he's in a tough fight to keep his seat this year against state Sen. Robert Hurt. Indeed, even before the first polls showed Hurt with a double-digit lead, and before the Republicans targeted the district, conventional wisdom was that Perriello had a slim chance of reelection because he's too progressive for the district. But that hasn't stopped the SEIU from putting money into the campaign, nor the cautious DCCC, which is now running its second ad in the 5th.
It's still a long shot, but if you want straight talk about serving the needs of a district where the unemployment rate is a full point and a half above the state overall, then Perriello ought to win walking away. Especially so given Hurt's apparent disdain for those needs. The video snippet below illustrates Perriello's stand-up approach to campaigning, which happily coincides with his stand-up approach to governing:
Like other Democrats in conservative districts, Perriello could have chosen an easier path. But just as he did in 2008, snatching the heavily Republican district from the incumbent, Perriello has run a relentless progressive-populist campaign this year. He's shown courage and principle in the face of difficult odds, been specific when his foe has been vague, not distanced himself from his votes and never muddied the message trying to snag a few extra votes. Not that every stand he takes is where progressives would like him to be. But we could use plenty more like Perriello in Congress.