Rep. Bob Good (R-Virginia) is still fighting for his political life the day after polls closed in Virginia.
The tight race between Good, who is chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, and primary opponent John McGuire, a state senator who has earned the coveted endorsement of former President Trump, remains to be seen, with McGuire holding a slim lead over Good as of Wednesday afternoon.
With 95% of the votes counted, Maguire leads Good by just 307 votes, or 0.4%, according to The Hill/Decision Desk tally. More than 62,000 voters have cast ballots in the race for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District.
The race is almost certain to head to a recount: Virginia law allows candidates to request a recount if they are behind by less than 1%.
Goode expressed confidence Wednesday morning that he has a path to victory but warned that a final tally could take weeks.
“Provisional ballots and mail-in ballots are still being counted, and we ask for full transparency from officials and patience from the residents of the 5th District in the coming weeks until the certification of the results is complete,” Good said. I wrote to X“We still believe we can win.”
Meanwhile, encouraged by his late lead on Tuesday night, Maguire echoed Trump’s 2020 election strategy by claiming victory in front of a packed house of his supporters.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the votes are in, your voice has been heard, and I am honored to be the Republican nominee for the 5th Congressional District,” Maguire declared, to cheers.
He reiterated those sentiments Wednesday night. Write on X“There are still a few votes left, but it’s clear that all roads end in victory.”
Vote counting could be delayed until at least Thursday. No vote counting is expected to take place on Wednesday because Virginia will be celebrating Juneteenth, a federal holiday. Associated Press.
But Good is optimistic that he will gain an advantage as more votes are counted.
As of Wednesday morning, significant votes remained outstanding in several Old Dominion counties, with both Good and McGuire leading in some areas.
A source close to Good’s campaign told The Hill they are closely monitoring the results in Albemarle and Lynchburg counties, where the incumbent holds an advantage.
In Albemarle, Good holds a 523 vote, or 9.4 percentage point, lead over McGuire in most of the county. In Lynchburg, Good holds an 842 vote, or 16.4 percentage point, lead over McGuire.
“The outcome of this race is still uncertain.” Good I wrote to XWednesday. “It is time for us to enshrine in law a process for evaluating the accuracy of all vote totals from Election Day so that everyone can have full confidence in the certified results.”
The battle for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, which became Tuesday’s hotly anticipated race, has been drawing national attention for months, with both intense interest and big spending in the capital region.
After Goode ran against McGuire, both President Trump and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) endorsed McGuire. Goode initially endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary and voted to oust McCarthy from his position as chief executive, drawing the ire of two top Republicans, their supporters and their money.
“Bob Goode is bad for Virginia and bad for America,” Trump declared in a Truth Social post on the eve of the election, and attended a televised rally with Maguire to warn that if Goode was elected, the incumbent “will betray Virginia just like he did to me.”
Meanwhile, McCarthy’s Majority Committee PAC is pumping $10,000 into McGuire’s campaign, hoping to defeat the first of eight Republicans who voted to impeach him as speaker. McGuire faced his first defeat last week when Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who voted to impeach McCarthy, won a landslide primary victory.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), another Republican firebrand, joined Trump and McCarthy in endorsing Maguire, while other members of the Congressional Freedom Caucus, including Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Byron Donald (R-Fla.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), supported the speaker.
Goode gave a nod to his opponents on election night. Post to Xwrote: “No matter the outcome, you have shown DC Swamp that you will never give up on standing up for justice.”
“Keep the faith and don’t stop the fight now,” he added.
