Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) officially lost his congressional primary on Thursday after a recount narrowly saw Republican state Sen. John Maguire defeat the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.
The Virginia State Board of Elections announced last month that McGuire had won the 5th District election, saying the state lawmaker backed by former President Donald Trump beat Good by 374 votes out of more than 62,000 cast in the June election, a margin of 0.6 percentage points.
A recount paid for by the 58-year-old incumbent was completed on Thursday night, narrowing Maguire’s margin of victory to just 370 votes.
“Mr. McGuire received more votes than Mr. Good and is the winner of this election,” Chief Justice Claude Worrell II ruled, confirming Mr. Good’s defeat.
“No disrespect meant to say this, but we won our case on June 18th,” Maguire, a former Navy SEAL, told reporters before the judge’s ruling. Associated Press.
According to the media, Goode conceded defeat in a Facebook post after the recount was completed.
“While I am disappointed with the ultimate outcome, it has been my great honor to serve as the Congressman for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District over the past three and a half years,” he wrote.
Good became chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus earlier this year and drew the ire of some of his own party’s most prominent members during his time in the House of Representatives.
The Virginia Republican was one of just eight members of the caucus that banded together with 208 House Democrats to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last year.
He also drew the ire of the 78-year-old Trump when he endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the Republican presidential nomination last May.
Prominent Republicans, including McCarthy, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Goode’s fellow Freedom Caucus member, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), have endorsed Maguire’s efforts to steer incumbent congressmen into primaries.
McGuire will face Democratic businesswoman Gloria Witt in November’s general election, which is expected to be won by the Republicans.
