Tom Perriello, former U.S. Representative, former U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and 2017 gubernatorial candidate, announced he is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Virginia’s 6th District in the 2026 midterm elections.
Perriello officially announced his candidacy following Virginia’s special election, which saw voters pass a referendum to redraw the congressional districts to be more favorable towards Democrats. Perriello initially intended to run in the 5th District.
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After being redrawn, the 6th District will include Roanoke City, Salem, and areas with large numbers of college students like Harrisonburg, Blacksburg, Lynchburg and Charlottesville.
Perriello joins an already crowded field of Democratic candidates, including “Dopesick” author Beth Macy; Ken Mitchell, who was this district’s Democratic nominee in 2024; Pete Barlow, a former FEMA emergency manager; and Hugh Murray, an attorney. State Del. Sam Rasoul has also formed an exploratory committee to run for Congress, potentially in the 6th District.
Whoever wins the Democratic nomination is expected to face off against incumbent Republican Congressman Ben Cline, who was first elected to this seat in 2018.
Perriello previously served one term as a U.S. Representative after beating incumbent Republican Virgil Goode in 2008 in Virginia’s 5th District by under half a percentage point.
“Folks around here can agree on one thing – we are paying way too much for gas, groceries and healthcare. It’s time to fire Congressmen like Ben Cline who jacked up costs to protect the corrupt. I’ve held hundreds of listening sessions across the Blue Ridge, and families deserve a representative who will fight to get costs down, paychecks up, and common sense back in the driver’s seat.”
Tom Perriello
Perriello is touting endorsements from major party leaders in Virginia, such as Gov. Abigail Spanberger, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, and Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine; endorsements he received when he announced his initial run for the 5th Congressional District. However, Beth Macy had already received endorsements from many of these leaders before Perriello’s shift.
Other Democratic candidates running for Congress in Virginia have also stated their intention to pivot to a neighboring district, such as Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor, who is now running in Virginia’s 5th District, and U.S. Representative Eugene Vindman, who is now running in Virginia’s 1st District.