Tom Perriello, the one-term Democratic congressman from Virginia, will run for governor in this year’s election. Jonathan Martin at the New York Times reports:
Mr. Perriello on Wednesday telephoned Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, who had been widely presumed to be the party’s nominee, to tell him he was entering the race, according to three Democrats directly familiar with the conversation. Mr. Perriello, a State Department official who is close to President Obama, is expected to announce his intention on Thursday to compete in the June 13 Democratic primary. He did not respond to a voice mail and text message. Mr. Northam could not be reached, either. By entering the race to succeed Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who is limited to a single term, Mr. Perriello will hinder Mr. McAuliffe’s effort to avert a contentious primary. Leading Democrats have sought to clear the field for Mr. Northam, hoping to give him a head start in fund-raising and organization, while at least three Republicans vie for the nomination.
Perriello, who won the closest House race in the 2008 election (by just over 700 votes), lost reelection in the Republican wave two years later. He later served as the president of the liberal Center for American Progress’s political arm and is currently an official in the State Department. A close ally of Barack Obama, Perriello is perceived as being from the Democratic party’s progressive wing.
