Recount will decide if conservative US Rep. Bob Good loses primary to Trump-backed challenger

GOOCHLAND, Va. (AP) — A recount of the votes cast in the Republican primary in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District will be held on July 31 to decide whether a challenger backed by former President Donald Trump will hold onto his narrow victory over U.S. Rep. Bob Good, one of the most conservative members of Congress.

Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell II scheduled the recount and set other ground rules for the process during a hearing Thursday in Goochland Circuit Court, where Good filed a recount petition after state elections officials certified state Sen. John McGuire as the winner by 374 votes out of nearly 63,000 ballots cast, or six-tenths of a percentage point.

State law allows Good to seek a recount because McGuire’s margin of victory was less than one percentage point. Because the margin was greater than half a percentage point, Good’s campaign will be required to pay for the recount. Worrell said he has estimated the cost of the recount at $96,500, although he said that amount could change depending on how long the process takes.

If the recount confirms McGuire as the winner, Good would become the first House incumbent nationally to lose a primary challenge this year, with the exception of one race in which two incumbents faced off due to redistricting,

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