CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Associated Press called the 5th District Congressional race Thursday for Republican Incumbent Rep. John McGuire, but provisional ballots will not be counted until next week.

The deadline to certify the results is Nov. 13 at 5 p.m., and Democratic challenger Tom Perriello has said he wants those ballots counted before declaring the race final.

In the city of Charlottesville, which voted 89.6% for Perriello, there are still 1,854 provisional ballots to be counted, Registrar Taylor Yowell told Cville Right Now, and about 600 outstanding mail-in ballots. Yowell said counting of provisional ballots, by law, will begin Tuesday.

Albemarle County Registrar Jonell McFadden did not respond to Cville Right Now’s requests for the county’s numbers.

Other areas of the district, where Perriello didn’t run as strongly, also have provisional ballots to count.

Without the provisional ballots, Republican incumbent Rep. John McGuire holds a lead of about 7,844 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger supported Perriello’s position, even though she acknowledged

“Given how many provisional ballots were cast in that election, I think it is extremely important that every single one of them is counted,” Spanberger said Thursday during a visit to Albemarle County. “I think, certainly looking at the landscape, the numbers are tough. But I think frankly there are so many people who really put their faith in Tom, worked hard for Tom, and I think it’s important that every single vote be counted.”

On Election Day night, McGuire declared victory.

“Despite $4.5 million of BS put on TV about me, by the grace of God, we won,” McGuire told a crowd of supporters at First Free Coffee Bar in Albemarle County on Tuesday night. “If you voted for me, I love you. If you didn’t vote for me, I love you. I will now work to earn your trust.”

Perriello declined to concede the race on Election Day, telling his supporters he wanted every provisional ballot counted before an outcome became official.

“We are confident that when all the votes are counted, we will win this district,” Perriello told the crowd at Kardinal Hall on Tuesday night.

The AP called the race at 11:59 a.m. on Thursday.

Provisional ballots are provided to voters who attempt to vote in person but do not have the proper identification. They are given ballots to fill out and submit, then have until the Friday after Election Day to submit their proper ID.

“The local electoral board reviews each provisional ballot during its canvass of votes cast to determine if the vote will be counted,” according to the Virginia Department of Elections website. 

His campaign did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday, but Wednesday afternoon, Perriello posted on social media, saying “I’m so appreciative of the incredible support we have received as we await the final results of our election. I’m filled with nothing but gratitude for all of the election officials and observers who are putting in overtime to make sure that every vote is counted across the 5th.”

A so-called “blue wave” swept the political nation, lifting Democrats to victories that gave them control of the Senate and House of Representatives and as well as to wins in battleground states like Michigan and Ohio and deep red states like Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.

In Virginia, Sen. Mark Warner easily won re-election, with major news outlets projecting his victory within minutes of the polls closing at 7 p.m. Democrats claimed eight of the 11 seats in the House. Republicans won in the 6th District, with incumbent Rep. Ben Cline defeating challenger Beth Macy, and in the deep red 9th District, where incumbent H. Morgan Griffith bested Joy Powers.

In the gerrymandered 5th District, a sprawling district that stretches from Albemarle County in the north to Mecklenburg County in the south, the wave wasn’t enough for Perriello, the last man to represent the 5th when he held the seat from 2009-2011. He moved a district that was plus-12 for Republicans in 2024 to just plus-2 for the GOP this year, but that was enough for an apparent McGuire victory.

The 5th District is Virginia’s second largest, at over 9,400 square miles, and fourth most populated, with over 800,000 residents. Albemarle County and Charlottesville voters haven’t backed the winning 5th District candidate in 18 years, not since Perriello won the seat in 2008.

“We’ve just exceeded expectations everywhere,” Perriello told Cville Right Now before leaving his event late Tuesday night. “We have unprecedented votes in our rural communities. We’ve seen folks in every corner show up and vote in ways you’ve never seen in a midterm before. We’ve gotten so many independents and Republicans voting our way. And right now, if you look at the provisional ballots, and you look at the early vote totals, it should project that we pull this thing out. But we believe in counting every vote. So, we’re going to see where it ends up. I think everyone will take a deep breath tonight and hopefully the trajectory will continue and we’ll see a big upset here in the 5th.”

Thursday, Spanberger praised Perriello’s campaign.

“When you look at what happened across the 5th District, in every single locality across the 5th District, Tom meaningfully moved voters, between increased turnout, increased early vote, and frankly just double-digit shifts towards him as a Democrat,” she said. “Certainly, he improved upon my numbers which I told him I’m excited about. It speaks to the continued engagement on the ground. I think he ran an incredible campaign. And I think it is important to make sure every vote is counted even if there is likely not a foreseeable path.”