Perriello advocates for federal contraception bill as 5th District campaigns ramp up

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The race for Virginia’s 5th District is heating up, with candidates ramping up campaigns ahead of the August primary.

On Tuesday, Democratic candidate Tom Perriello held a press event in Charlottesville to advocate for a federal law that would enshrine access to contraception into the Constitution and says he wants incumbent Congressman John McGuire to do the same.

Standing with representatives from Americans for Contraception and Planned Parenthood, Perriello called on Congressman McGuire to sign a discharge petition that would force a vote on the federal Right to Contraception Act.

“[Contraception has] been important to help families start families when they can do it, when they can afford it, and that’s going to make them the best families they can be,” Perriello said. “We’re asking him to take less than 90 seconds out of his day to just sign a discharge petition.”

Virginia’s Democratic legislature recently passed a new law that would codify contraception access into the state Constitution, which Governor Spanberger will ceremonially sign into law this week. Delegate Katrina Callsen, though, says she also wants to see that legislation passed at the national level.

“It’s way beyond family planning,” Callsen said. “It’s a myriad of symptoms and chronic illnesses...There’s all kinds of reasons why a woman might need access to birth control.”

The concern, Callsen says, is the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, pointing to Justice Clarence Thomas’ statement in his concurring opinion, in which he wrote the Court “should reconsider” the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut decision that struck down a ban on contraception.

“I’m not trying to monger fear,” Callsen told 29News. “I want to be really proactive and strong about protecting our rights.”

Many Congressional Republicans, though, have argued that access to birth control is not under threat, and that federal legislation to enshrine it into the Constitution is unnecessary. Senate Republicans blocked an effort to pass the Right to Contraception Act in 2024, with Texas Senator John Cornryn calling the vote “phony...because contraception, to my knowledge, is not illegal.”

29News asked McGuire Tuesday if he would sign the discharge petition and if he would support legislation to enshrine access to contraception in the Constitution.

“I’m pro-life, I think life is a miracle, and it must be protected,” McGuire said. “I’m not going to comment on legislation that I have not looked at. It doesn’t sound like legislation - what it sounds like is a political ploy to win points and go around the rules...If someone wants to put a legitimate piece of legislation on any subject in front of me, I’ll look at it.”

Perriello and McGuire, who are currently competing for the nomination in their parties’ August primaries, also traded criticisms of each other on Tuesday and positioned themselves as the best person for the job.

McGuire condemned Perriello - who represented the 5th District from 2009 to 2011 - for voting for the Affordable Care Act, calling him the “architect of Obamacare.”

“It’s hard to take this guy seriously,” McGuire said. “It’s commonsense versus crazy. I want every American regardless of race, party, religion, or creed to be able to live work and raise their family in peace, and those are the decisions I’m going to support.”

Perriello, on the other hand, slammed McGuire’s vote in favor of the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

“It’s an attack on people being able to start the families and afford the families at every point in the process,” Perriello said.

According to a June 2026 Gallup poll, roughly 83% of Americans believe birth control is morally acceptable. The statistic marks a drop from the 90% who chose that answer last year, but still represents a safe majority.

Kyle Kondik with the University of Virginia Center for Politics says Perriello’s focus on the issue of contraception at this point in the congressional race is strategic.

“I think it’s just a campaign statement,” Kondik said. “You’re trying to find issues in which maybe you’re closer to the median voter, even in a Republican-leaning district, than McGuire is, and access to contraception is possibly one of them...[It’s] more popular than the Democratic brand as a whole.”

Early voting for the primary election begins on Friday, June 19. Perriello is running against Louisa County writer and former Tea Party member Rob Tracinski and Lynchburg physician Suzanne Krzyzanowski for the Democratic nomination. McGuire faces political newcomer and Louisa County business owner Melanie Lucero for the Republican nomination.

If Perriello wins the Democratic nomination, Kondik says, winning the general election in November would be a “steep hill...but not an impossible one,” in a district that voted for President Trump by 12 points.

“The thing about McGuire is he doesn’t really have to win any Kamala Harris voters, whereas Perriello has to win a substantial number of Trump voters and also hope that the turnout mix is better than what it was in 2024,” Kondik said.

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