House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., has lost his primary recount, a Virginia court certified on Thursday, cementing his narrow defeat to GOP state Sen. John McGuire.
The recount results confirmed McGuire beat Good, after McGuire initially led Good by just 374 votes in the June primary in Virginia’s 5th District.
Good had previously said he would step down as chairman of the hard-right Freedom Caucus if he did not prevail in the primary recount.
The recount officially brings the race to an end, with Good becoming the first sitting House Republican to lose to a primary challenger this year. Good faced a broad coalition of GOP opposition, which included former President Donald Trump and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Trump jumped into the race shortly before the June 18 primary by endorsing McGuire, who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and walked to the U.S. Capitol grounds, saying, “We felt like we were being cheated.”
McGuire declined to commit to certifying the 2024 presidential election results in an interview with NBC News shortly before the primary, saying he “would “need to see what happens.”
“I can understand why people lack trust in elections,” McGuire added.
Good drew Trump’s ire by backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the presidential primary, and his subsequent endorsement of Trump wasn’t enough to put him in the former president’s good graces.
Trump appeared in a TV ad and held a tele-rally for McGuire ahead of the primary, telling supporters, “John is running against Bob Good, who is not good. Despite his name, he’s very bad for Virginia.”
McGuire, a former Navy SEAL whose campaign slogan was, “We can do better than Good,” previously told NBC News that Trump’s endorsement was helpful in the race.
“I’ve had many people say ‘I don’t know anything about you, never met you before, but if Trump’s endorsing you, I’ve got you,’” McGuire said. “I believe with all that Trump has been through he has earned the right to call the shots and pick his team.”
McCarthy also played a role in the race, as he looked to target the handful of Republicans who ousted him as speaker late last year.
Outside groups tied to McCarthy allies and GOP establishment donors blanketed the district’s airwaves, spending $6.9 million against Good, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact. And while Good also had support from outside groups that helped match that spending, McGuire also vastly outspent Good on ads, helping to get his message out to the sprawling district.
McGuire acknowledged McCarthy had given him advice, noting he has spoken to the former California congressman over the phone a few times. And he pointed to the vote to oust McCarthy as evidence that Good was not focused on helping his party or the district.
“If you’re on the Republican team, and you’re part of the Democrat team to take out the Republican team, You’re not on the Republican team,” McGuire said. “Bob is on the Bob Good team.”
McGuire is now expected to win in November, given the 5th District’s Republican lean. Trump carried the district by 8 percentage points in 2020, according to calculations from Daily Kos Elections.
Good joins two other members of Congress who failed to advance out of their primaries this year. Rep. Jerry Carl lost to a fellow incumbent, Rep. Barry Moore, in an Alabama GOP primary spurred by redistricting. And Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a member of the ‘squad’ of progressive lawmakers of color and vocal Israel critic, was defeated by Westchester County Executive George Latimer in a New York Democratic primary.
Syedah Asghar contributed.
