House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Goode, R-Va., lost a primary recount Thursday approved by a Virginia court, confirming his loss to GOP state Sen. John McGuire.
After McGuire initially led Good by just 374 votes in the June primary, recount results confirmed McGuire had defeated Good. 5th District of Virginia.
Well it was before announced that he would resign As chairman of the hard-right Freedom Caucus if he doesn’t win the primary recount.
The recount officially ends the race, with Goode becoming the first House Republican to lose to a primary challenger this year. Goode faced a broad coalition of GOP opposition that included former President Donald Trump and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Trump jumped into the race shortly before the June 18 primary, endorsing McGuire, who attended the Stop the Stealing rally before the Jan. 6, 2021 attack and marched to the US Capitol grounds, saying, “We felt like. is deceived”.
McGuire declined to confirm the results of the 2024 presidential election, saying “we’ll have to see what happens.”
“I can understand why people are distrustful of elections,” McGuire said.
Goode drew Trump’s ire by endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the presidential election, and his subsequent endorsement of Trump wasn’t enough to put him in the former president’s good graces.
Trump appeared in a television ad and held a telethon for McGuire before the primary, telling supporters: “John is running against Bob Goode, who is no good. Despite his name, he is very bad for Virginia.’
McGuire, a former Navy SEAL whose campaign slogan is “We can do better than good,” previously told NBC News that Trump’s support was helpful in the race.
“I’ve had a lot of people say, ‘I don’t know anything about you, I’ve never met you before, but if Trump supports you, I’ve got you,'” McGuire said. “I believe that with all that has happened to Trump, he has earned the right to call the shots and pick his team.”
McCarthy also played a role in the race as he sought to target a handful of Republicans who ousted him as speaker late last year.
Outside groups linked to McCarthy allies and GOP foundation donors flooded the district, spending $6.9 million against Good, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact. While there was support from outside groups that helped Good match those costs, McGuire also spent more than Good on advertising, helping to get his message across the sprawling district.
McGuire acknowledged that McCarthy had given him advice and noted that he spoke with the former California congressman several times by phone. And he pointed to the vote to oust McCarthy as proof that Goodwin had no intention of helping his party or his district.
“If you’re on the Republican team and you’re part of the Democratic 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 the 5th District in November, given his Republican preference. According to calculations, Trump led the district by 8 percentage points in 2020 Daily Kos Elections.
Goode joins two other members of Congress who failed to advance in primaries this year. Representative Jerry Carl lost to a colleague, Rep. Barry Moore boosts redistricting in Alabama GOP primary. And Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a member of a “caucus” of progressive lawmakers and a vocal critic of Israel, was defeated by Westchester County Executive George Latimer in the New York Democratic primary.
Syedah Asghar contributed.