House Freedom Caucus chair files for recount in Virginia primary against Trump-backed foe
By Arit John and Matt Holt, CNN
(CNN) — A rancorous Republican congressional primary in Virginia that has been a proxy fight amid larger party divisions is heading toward a recount.
House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good officially filed a recount petition Thursday in Goochland Circuit Court for the June 18 Republican primary in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. Certified results by the Virginia Board of Elections show Good 374 votes behind state Sen. John McGuire.
Good’s campaign said in a statement Thursday that it had been “overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for the campaign to move ahead with the recount process.”
“In a race with nearly 63,000 votes that is separated by a 0.6% margin, Republican voters across the 5th District deserve to know that all legal votes have been accurately counted,” Good posted on social media last week.
The congressman faced a fierce effort to knock him out from a broad swath of the GOP in what became the most expensive House Republican primary of the cycle to date. As one of the chief architects of the move to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker last fall, Good drew the ire of McCarthy’s allies, who spent millions seeking revenge. Good also lost former President Donald Trump’s support after he endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
The race for the 5th District, which encompasses Charlottesville and parts of south-central Virginia, highlighted two contrarian trends seen in Republican primaries this primary cycle: a backlash against GOP extremism and a deeper embrace of the former president.
Last month, South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, another target of McCarthy’s revenge, fended off a primary challenge from an opponent backed by the former speaker and his allies. Mace, though, had Trump’s support in her race.
Other efforts to oust House Republican incumbents – led by Good’s own Freedom Caucus colleagues – have also failed this year. Congressmen such as Texas’ Tony Gonzales, Nebraska’s Don Bacon and South Carolina’s William Timmons have prevailed over hard-line primary challengers.
But Good faced steep odds heading into Election Day. The candidates and outside groups poured more than $14 million in ad spending into the race. Groups opposing Good spent about $7.5 million, while those backing the incumbent spent $5.6 million on their efforts. One anti-Good ad painted him as disloyal to Trump and featured a clip of him criticizing the former president. Others targeted his votes against government funding bills.
McGuire also narrowly outraised Good through May 29, federal records show, bringing in $1.2 million to his opponent’s $1.1 million.
Good had to weather direct attacks from Trump, who held a tele-rally for McGuire on the eve of the election in which he attacked the incumbent for not being sufficiently supportive.
“If he’s reelected, Bob Good will stab Virginia in the back, sort of like he did with me,” Trump told supporters on the call.
Good had sought to get back into Trump’s good graces once it became clear that the former president, and not DeSantis, would be the 2024 Republican nominee. He even appeared in New York City outside Trump’s hush money trial, along with other Republicans seeking to show their support and devotion to Trump. Both Good and McGuire rode in Trump’s motorcade on the way to the Manhattan courthouse.
Despite those efforts, Trump declared on social media that Good was “BAD FOR VIRGINIA, AND BAD FOR THE USA.” Trump’s campaign also sent the congressman’s team a cease-and-desist letter over signage that it said falsely implied that the former president had endorsed Good.
And less than a week before Election Day, Trump appeared in an ad boosting McGuire and urging voters to turn out for a “big and very important primary election.”
“John McGuire is an American hero who served as a Navy SEAL. He’s strong on the border. Everyone needs to get out and vote for John McGuire,” Trump said in the ad.
Good may not be the only House Republican incumbent with a primary heading for a recount. In Utah’s 2nd District, GOP Rep. Celeste Maloy leads challenger Colby Jenkins by 214 votes out of more than 107,000 cast in the June 25 primary, according to unofficial state election results. Under state law, that margin is within the threshold for Jenkins to request a recount after the state conducts its canvass on July 22.
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