Democrat Tom Perriello, who is challenging Rep. Virgil Goode (R) in the 5th district, said this week that his campaign raised more than $260,000 in 2007 after opening his campaign committee in September with the goal of raising $200,000 by the end of the year.

Perriello outraised Goode in the third quarter with a $111,000 showing and raised an additional $154,000 in the fourth quarter. He finished the year with more than $240,000 in cash on hand.

Perriello, an attorney who is known for his work with nonprofit groups, said Tuesday that he has been especially pleased to see “a lot of independents and Republican donors. … What we’re seeing is a tremendous hunger for a new generation of results-oriented politics.”

Although the district contains the liberal enclave of Charlottesville, it went to President Bush in 2004 by 13 points. Goode beat Democrat Al Weed in the 2006 race by 19 points, spending more than $1 million on the campaign to Weed’s $578,000.
— John McArdle