RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – A closely contested race in Virginia between one of America’s most conservative members of Congress and a challenger backed by the former president Donald Trump is too close to call, the Associated Press said Monday.
The AP issued an advisory saying that the margin between U.S. Rep. Bob Good and the state Sen. John McGuire is likely to remain within the margin of one percentage point. That means the race is eligible for a recount under state law.
Good, who is currently trailing by more than 300 votes out of nearly 63,000 cast, has said he will ask for a recount if the state election board declares McGuire the winner.
McGuire’s lead has actually grown slightly since early Wednesday morning.
Good also told former Trump adviser and right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon on Monday that he will mount a legal challenge to block the count’s certification in the city of Lynchburg, the largest city in the 5th Congressional District and a Good stronghold.
“Lynchburg is the big key. That cannot be certified. There is no confidence in Lynchburg’s results,” Good said.
Good and others have alleged that the city botched the vote counting by accepting ballots from a drop box after election night.
In a statement Monday, city officials acknowledged a procedural error but said fewer than 10 ballots were affected.
According to the statement from the registration office, the mailbox, which was located in the registration office, was emptied just before 1 p.m. on election day. But it wasn’t until Friday, June 21, that the box was emptied again. It contained seven ballots.
The clerk’s statement said staffers in the clerk’s office saw several ballots legally dropped off in the afternoon of Election Day, but did not see any ballots in the mail afterward.
Those seven ballots have since been mixed with another set of ballots, and the registrar has said counting has been suspended while they consult with the Virginia Department of Elections on what to do next.
The Department of Elections said in an email Monday that it is monitoring the situation in Lynchburg. The state election board is currently scheduled to meet on July 2 to certify the results.
Only after the results are certified can Good request a recount.
McGuire, who claimed victory on election night, issued a statement Monday thanking Good for his service and suggesting a recount or legal challenge would be futile and divisive.
“While I understand the desire to continue the fight, the outcome of this election will not change,” he said.
Both Good and McGuire are among Republicans who have raised concerns about election integrity in the wake of Trump’s false claims of voter fraud during his 2020 reelection defeat. Good was one of more than 100 Republican House members who voted in January 2021 to to object to the Electoral College count of states that Trump disputed.
During an election night phone meeting with Trump last week, McGuire urged his supporters to give him a margin of victory that is “too big to manipulate.”
If Good loses, he would be the first sitting House member to lose a primary challenge this year, with the exception of one race in which two incumbents faced off over redistricting.
