Goode won’t run for old seat

Former Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) will not seek a return to Congress, after all.

After giving it plenty of thought in the nearly nine months since he lost to Democrat Tom Periello, Goode issued a statement to the Franklin News Post saying he won’t run on the GOP ticket.

“I have decided not to seek the Republican nomination for Congress in 2010,” Goode said.

Goode, a former independent, also foreclosed the idea of running without a party. He elaborated that he would support the Republican nominee, whoever it might be.

Goode was elected first in 1996 as a Democrat and won reelection as an independent before running as a Republican in 2002.

It’s not clear where Republicans will go now that Goode has opted against running. Regardless, Perriello remains one of their top targets.