"Fifth District Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., R-Rocky Mount, won a fifth term Tuesday, riding 3-1 margins in several Southside Virginia counties and handily turning back a challenge from Nelson County Democrat Al Weed.

Weed carried the Democratic stronghold of Charlottesville by 5,638 votes over Goode but narrowly lost Albemarle County to the Republican incumbent and was swamped in the majority of the rural 5th District south of the James River.

Goode, 58, carried every county in the district plus the cities of Bedford, Danville and Martinsville en route to a sizeable victory - 169,858 votes to 96,455 for Weed in nearly complete, but unofficial, returns that had the Republican winning by 64 percent to 36 percent.

Goode’s winning percentage was about the same as the size of his margin of victory two years ago over then-Charlottesville vice mayor Meredith Richards.

'It turned out well,' Goode said late Tuesday night. 'The turnout was huge and we got some great vote totals in some of the counties,' he said, listing his home county of Franklin plus Pittsylvania, Campbell and Henry counties.

'That’s the most votes I’ve ever gotten by far, because in 2000 the turnout wasn’t as big,' Goode said. He attributed his large margin of victory to 'a lot of volunteers and hard workers.'

Goode also said a large number of issues on which he and Weed disagreed gave voters 'a huge choice on any number of issues.' Social issues, such as gay civil unions and the death penalty, 'were certainly a factor,' he added.

'I think his position on health care issues scared a lot of persons,' Goode said of his opponent, who advocated a single-payer health care system built on expanding Medicare.

Weed, 62, said he is not ruling out another run for Congress in two years.

'I enjoyed the race,' said the vineyard owner who added he was pleased he gave voters a choice.

'I can’t tell' about another race in two years, Weed said. 'I have to see where I did well, where I did badly and if I think there is a chance to do better where I did badly.'

Weed said his advocacy of a single-payer health system may have scared some voters. 'I really believe we need a single-payer system in America,' he said. 'He attacked it.'

'I don’t know how the war played,' said Weed, who opposed the war in Iraq and called for bringing the troops home while Goode praised the leadership of President Bush.

Weed said he honestly spoke his mind in the contest and did not want to be a politician unwilling to express his views.

Charlottesville Mayor David Brown said Weed did very well in the city 'because the Democratic vote came out. People realized that voting for Al was voting for the things Kerry believed in and voting for Virgil was voting for the things Bush believed in, and they wanted change.'

Keith Drake, chairman of the Albemarle County Republican Party, said Albemarle narrowly preferred Goode over Weed and 'that was expected for him to win by a narrow margin' in the county.

Albemarle has a distinct demographic divide between the Democratic-leaning urban ring and the Republican-leaning rural portions of the county, Drake said, 'and that played out tonight.'

Bill May, Albemarle’s GOP chairman from 1982 to 1986, summed up Goode’s big win by declaring him a congressman with a long future in Washington. 'Virgil, if he wants to stay there for life, he’s got it,' May said." (Bob Gibson, The Daily Progress, November 3, 2004)