Primary Of House Freedom Caucus Chair Is Still Too Close To Call

Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, may not survive a too-close-to-call GOP primary.

As of early Wednesday, Good was trailing state Sen. John McGuire by 326 votes, with 98% of precincts reporting in south-central Virginia’s 5th District. The number of outstanding votes can tip the contest either way.

A close race doesn’t automatically trigger a recount in Virginia, but the losing candidate can request one if the margin is within 1%.

The race is a test of whether the chair of the ultra-conservative group of House GOP lawmakers can withstand a Donald Trump-backed challenger and opposition from allies of ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

Good separately angered both GOP factions by endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP presidential primary and then voting to oust McCarthy as speaker.

If Good loses, he’ll be the first Republican incumbent to go down in a contested primary this cycle after a close call for Rep. Tony Gonzales, a West Texas Republican who opposed a GOP border security bill.

Both Good and McGuire hugged Trump in the primary, but Trump made it clear he was against Good. “He would stab Virginia in the back, sort of like he did with me,” he told McGuire’s supporters during a tele-town hall on Monday.

McGuire declared victory Tuesday night even though he was up by fewer than 350 votes and potentially in recount territory. It might be days before the race is officially called.

Good, meanwhile, thanked his supporters.

“The entire DC Swamp was aligned against us with over $10 million in attack ads, but with your help we were able to make this race too close to call,” he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.