With 98% of the votes counted and a difference of just a few hundred votes between the two candidates, the primary in Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District had not yet been called by the Associated Press as of 12:30 Wednesday morning.
State Sen. John McGuire led incumbent Rep. Bob Good by 315 votes as the closely fought primary headed toward a photo finish early Wednesday. It’s close enough to trigger a state-funded recount, if Good calls for it.
But there are still more votes to be counted.
In a statement about X, Good said the delay was caused by mail-in and provisional ballots.
“We have implemented the best early voting operation the Fifth District has ever seen, and we are still awaiting the results of the mail-in and provisional ballots,” he wrote. “We are doing what we can to ensure that we have teams of observers and legal advisors to ensure that all votes are counted correctly in the coming days. Regardless of the outcome, you’ve shown the DC swamp that you won’t back down. stand for what is right. Keep the faith and don’t stop fighting now.”
McGuire struck a tone of victory in a post on X, while admitting the count wasn’t over yet.
“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 wrote.
As of 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, 62,425 ballots had been counted, with 50.25% for McGuire and 49.75% for Good. Of those counted, 10,834 were cast during early voting and 3,502 were mailed, according to the Virginia Board of Elections.
Although the winner of Tuesday’s primary is expected to win the Congressional seat in the staunchly conservative Fifth District in November, he will face Gloria Witt, the Democratic challenger who won her primary on Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Good v McGuire primary race not yet settled as of midnight
