The Winner

If you live in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, Rep. John McGuire (R-VA) will keep representing you, though the race took nearly two days to settle. The Associated Press called it for McGuire at 11:59 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5, while provisional ballots were still being counted, Cville Right Now reported. ​

McGuire had 181,290 votes to Democrat Tom Perriello’s 173,417 with almost 98% of the vote counted, WDBJ reported. That’s a lead of 7,873 votes, or about 2 points, and it keeps the seat in Republican hands.

The Race

The race was far closer than in 2024, when McGuire won the seat with 57.3% of the vote, according to Ballotpedia’s history of the district. Perriello, who represented the district from 2009 to 2011, won the Democratic nomination in the Aug. 4 primary over Suzanne Krzyzanowski and Rob Tracinski. Independent Cooke Harvey drew 5,763 votes, about 1.6%.

The district includes Charlottesville, Danville and Lynchburg, plus all or part of 21 counties stretching from Albemarle County to the North Carolina border, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. About 800,000 people live there, and the typical household earns about $73,000 a year. About 34% of adults hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

About 70% of residents are white, about 20% are Black, about 5% are Hispanic and about 2% are Asian. The unemployment rate is about 4%, and about 13% of residents live below the poverty line.

What’s Next

McGuire’s second term begins Jan. 3, 2027, in a House that Democrats will control after Tuesday’s elections, VPM reported. Under state law, Virginia’s State Board of Elections has until Monday, Dec. 7, to certify the results. If the margin holds, Perriello won’t qualify for a recount, which Virginia allows only when the margin is 1% or less, VPM reported.

Before the election, McGuire told WTVR CBS 6 that data centers have a place, but not near homes or farms, and that deciding where they go is “more of a local issue.”

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