As votes continue to be counted in the GOP congressional primary in Virginia’s 5th District, blows and barbs continue to be exchanged between Republican candidates John McGuire and Representative Bob Goodwho stands for re-election.
Good, the incumbent president, was first elected in 2020 and hoped to overcome the challenge from McGuire, a NAVY Seal who has the support of former President Donald Trumpbut Virginia Department of Elections results show Good trailing McGuire by 330 votes.
Speaking to Steve Bannon on his War Room podcast Thursday, Good cast doubt on the hiring process and said his team was unaware of a county counting process that started two hours early.
The congressman also promised a “full recount” and investigation process and said he had a large team of attorneys.
“We’re going to investigate any suspicion of a crime, we’re going to investigate that and we’re going to have some extra time to do that during the recount process,” he said.
According to the Virginia Department of Elections, the canvassing process will continue until Tuesday, June 25, and the State Board of Elections will certify these results on July 2.
Candidates then have until July 12 to file a recount request.
While the race is still too close to call, McGuire took a victory lap on X, formerly known as Twitter, just hours after polls closed Tuesday.
“Thank you to my family, thank you to everyone who helped with this campaign, thank you to the people who supported and supported me, and thank you to Donald J. Trump for his belief in me. There are still a few votes left to count, but it is clear that all roads end in victory,” he posted.
The race between Good and McGuire has become one of the most contentious primaries of the 2024 cycle so far. Testing of incumbent candidates in primaries is common, but before Virginia’s outcome, no current member of Congress had lost a primary this year, excluding cases where new district lines were used.
The Republican race for Virginia’s reliably red Fifth Congressional District has proven to be a deep internal battle for Republicans, with external forces at play.
“Bob Good has done more to undermine and divide Republicans than any Democrat,” Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska posted on social media. late Tuesday evening.
Good had endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the presidential race – before returning to former President Trump’s side. And last year, Good was one of eight Republicans in the House of Representatives who joined the Democrats Impeach Kevin McCarthy as a speaker.
While there were other Republicans running for re-election who had done at least one of these two things, Good had done both, managing to anger colleagues in Washington while alienating Trump, which would hurt his chances of winning. winning another term all the more intimidating. . That challenge was further underscored when Trump endorsed McGuire in the primaries and moved to hold a tele-rally for Good’s challenger on the eve of the contest.
The stakes for Good are also high given his current role as chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. That far-right branch of Republicans in the House of Representatives has at times been a problem for the Republican Party since the party regained a narrow majority in the 2022 midterm elections. A loss of Good could complicate the group’s influence in Washington in the future.
“This fight, as you know, is much bigger than me and my opponent, it’s much bigger than Virginia the Fifth District,” Good said Thursday on Trump ally Steve Bannon’s show. “Not only is this the template, as you said, for the election on November 5…but it’s the Swamp versus the Freedom Caucus. Are we going to allow this seat to be bought by the McCarthy revenge tour?”
