CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Calling the current political situation “an all-hands on deck moment,” former Virginia Congressman Tom Perriello announced his comeback candidacy in the 5th district on Tuesday morning.

“Things are out of control,” Perriello said in a social media video announcing his bid. “People are angry and confused, and they have a right to be.”

Striking the same anti-Trump tone that helped Democrats sweep statewide elections for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General in November – and also gain 13 seats in the House of Delegates — Perriello said Republican incumbent John McGuire won’t defend the Commonwealth against the current administration.

“Families can’t afford groceries because Republicans in Congress, like John McGuire, won’t stand up to Trump’s tariffs,” Perriello said. “They’re prioritizing tax cuts for huge corporations over cutting the cost of healthcare and housing.”

Perriello also called out the Trump administration’s external pressure on the University of Virginia, a state institution, saying it is using the school as “a political punching bag,” and the McGuire “was nowhere to be seen.”

Perriello defeated Republican Virgil Goode by a slim margin, just about 800 votes, in November 2008. Two years later, he was unseated by Republican Robert Hurt by a more-standard-for-the-district 9,000-vote margin. No Democrat has won the 5th since.

He also launched a failed bid for the Governor’s mansion in 2017, losing to eventual Gov. Ralph Northam in a Democratic primary.

Perriello joins a crowded field of Democratic contenders in the 5th, a group that includes Albemarle County supervisor Mike Pruitt, a Navy veteran, Crozet’s Paul Riley, a retired Army veteran, and Charlottesville activist Adele Stichel, a UVA law graduate, as well as Lynchburg businessperson Kate Zabriskie.

McGuire may face his own primary. Former 5th district representative Bob Good is considering a run for his former seat. Good served as the district’s representative from 2021-2025. He lost the support of support of President Trump, who backed McGuire in the GOP primary, helping McGuire to victory.