"DANVILLE, Va. - As he travels the back roads of the 5th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode is finishing a political journey he began two years ago by leaving the Democratic Party.

A man with an impeccable Democratic pedigree and nearly 30 years of service to the Democratic Party, Goode now is seeking a fourth congressional term as a Republican.

His long, strange trip began in January 2000, when he declared himself a GOP-leaning independent.

Now, as he sprints toward re-election, Goode is presenting himself as a player on the House Appropriations Committee who is bringing needed federal dollars to Southside.

"We need to get our fair share, and I think I can do that," he says.

He also is attacking his opponent, Charlottesville City Councilwoman Meredith Richards, by painting her as a liberal Democrat out of step with the region's values.

"She's a liberal, and Charlottesville is mostly liberal," he said, noting that Democratic presidential hopeful Walter Mondale carried the city, even as he lost 49 states to President Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Goode describes his own politics as "conservative with a touch of populism," very similar to the assessments offered by the Almanac of Virginia Politics on his 23-year stint in the state Senate.

In appearances before GOP crowds, he stresses the former part of the equation, urging activists to tell their neighbors, "'Hey friend, come with me on Nov. 5 and let's vote for a conservative for the U.S. House of Representatives!'"

His platform this year includes solid support for the death penalty and gun ownership, vehement opposition to the free trade agreements and calls to make permanent President Bush's 2001 tax cuts.

He also vows, if re-elected, to continue pushing for some sort of tobacco quota buyout, one that would ensure the continued growth of flue-cured tobacco in Southside Virginia.

A Franklin County native, Goode jumped into politics at age 27, running as an independent for state Senate District 20 after the death of incumbent Democrat Bill Stone.

He sought a full senate term as a Democrat in 1975, winning 86 percent of the vote and never faced another opponent for the next 21 years.

Goode played a pivotal role in the evolution of Virginia politics when Republicans won an even split in the 40-member senate in the 1995 elections.

Along with state Sen. Charles Colgan, D-Manassas, he insisted on a power-sharing agreement that allowed bipartisan chairmanships of senate committees.

Goode describes that arrangement as a highlight of his political career.

"If you had the Democratic scheme in place ... you would not have had the fairness to Southside that I think we needed," he said. "The Democrats didn't want (state Sen.) Charlie Hawkins to be on the (finance) committee or the Transportation Subcommittee. Rural Virginia, under the bipartisan scheme, had, I think, a much fairer shot at getting somewhat of a fair share out of the state discretionary money."

In 1996, 5th District Congressman L.F. Payne retired to run for lieutenant governor.

Goode quickly became the Democratic standard bearer, going on to defeat Republican George C. Landrith in the general election.

To say that Goode is popular in the 5th Congressional District would be a gross understatement.

He beat Landrith by a 61-36 margin and had no formal opposition in 1998.

University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato attributes those handy wins to a mixture of philosophy and retail politics.

"He is very good one-on-one," Sabato said of Goode. "He's the only politician I've ever known who has gone to four different tire stores to put new tires on his car - one tire per store. That gives you an insight into his brand of small-town politics."

Despite his popularity, Goode found himself increasingly at odds with the Democratic Party, most notably when he voted to impeach President Clinton.

Jim Severt, then Goode's chief of staff, quit shortly thereafter.

"He voted to impeach the president in what I viewed as a terrible, terrible political coup de tat that had no basis in what the framers intended the impeachment process to be used for," Severt said.

Even as 5th District party leaders denounced Goode's vote, former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder came to his defense.

"He arrived at his decision based on what he truly felt," Wilder said recently. "He didn't do it for political purposes. I would have no problem voting for Virgil because I feel he represents the people."

Goode continued to anger Democrats throughout 1999, lending an aura of inevitability to his switch to an independent.

The GOP leadership in the House of Representatives promptly handed him a seat on the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, a prize for the 5th District that Sabato likens to "having gold bullion stored in the bank."

When pressed, Goode can reel off a partial list of projects he has won funding for - $2 million for the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, $1.7 million for industrial site development in Prince Edward County, $1.8 million for sewer improvements in Halifax County.

"I would say $20 million in two years is not peanuts," Goode said, dismissing Richards' accusation he hasn't used his Appropriations seat effectively."

No evidence suggests that Goode suffered politically in the 2000 election cycle by turning independent.

He wracked up 82 percent of the vote in his home county of Franklin and carried the entire district by 67 percent.

Still, the party switch continues to rankle folks like Severt.

"I think supporting the right-wing Jim Gilmore and Mark Earley is a far cry from Mr. Goode's 1973 and 1977 support of populist Democrat Henry Howell," Severt said.

Sabato describes Goode as "the ultimate individualist" in Congress and argues that a common thread runs though his political career.

"Has Vigil changed on some issues? Certainly. Has his basic approach to politics changed? No," Sabato said. "He was a populist then, and he's a populist now. There's something fundamental about Virgil's politics that has remained constant. He has never trusted big government or big business."

And Wilder - who won enthusiastic backing for his successful lieutenant governor and gubernatorial bids from Goode - downplayed the importance of party labels.

"I consider the individual," Wilder said. "If I lived in the district and Virgil was the same person that he's always been, nobody's made a case as to why I shouldn't vote for him. In addition to being a friend, I think he's an excellent representative." (George Whitehurst, Danville Register and Bee, November 3, 2002)