The College Fix

In 2008, Tom Perriello came from behind to defeat Republican incumbent Virgil Goode for the Fifth District congressional seat.

This year, it appears the Democrat is now the one trailing behind and will fight to hold onto his seat in the Nov. 2 midterm elections.

Perriello will face Republican challenger Robert Hurt and independent candidate Jeffrey Clark, who is affiliated with the Tea Party. Perriello and Hurt are the front-runners, but Hurt has taken a significant lead in the polls. High turnout among students, who historically vote Democratic, may be a boon to Perriello, said Isaac Wood, communications director at the Center for Politics and a former Cavalier Daily opinion columnist.

Unfortunately for Perriello, the midterm elections are expected to attract fewer student voters than in 2008, according to Rock the Vote, an organization which promotes youth participation in elections. The group has reported registering 280,000 young voters for this year’s midterm elections, a dramatic decline from the 2.5 million voters the organization registered before elections in 2008.

Read the full story at the Cavalier Daily.

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