The results of the recount in Virginia's 5th District race are in, and Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good is out.
The two-term Virginia Republican on Thursday officially lost his reelection primary bid to state Sen. John McGuire, who clinched the nomination after the official recall of the results from the June 18 primary wrapped up, reports Politico.
Good lost out to McGuire by roughly 400 votes, out of the more than 62,000 ballots that were cast. He had requested the recount after the primary left him and McGuire with a one-point margin.
The loss comes after Good, during his time in office and his rise to chair the conservative freedom caucus, alienated fellow members of Congress and former President Donald Trump, notes Politico.
Good became unpopular with colleagues after working to block parts of the Republican legislative agenda. He further lost favor with Trump after endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president over Trump, even before DeSantis had officially entered the race.
Good was also one of eight Republicans to vote out former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, leading the California Republican and his allies to target their efforts against him in the primary, resulting in super PACs spending millions of dollars on McGuire.
Trump also backed McGuire, after being angered that Good initially endorsed DeSantis over him.
Meanwhile, colleagues who had fought challengers Good endorsed rallied to support McGuire, with Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., encouraging his donors to back the state senator. Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., came to Virginia with volunteers to canvass in McGuire's support in the closing days of the primary.
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, a member of the Freedom Caucus, also endorsed McGuire.
Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., who backed McGuire, said he and other Republicans wanted Good out because he was "destructive to the Republican party, Congress, the Freedom Caucus. And, most importantly, Good was destructive to the people in his district."
Other Freedom Caucus allies, as well as Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, did back Good, and he had strong support from 5th District local officials who backed his race.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, another backer, said the "swamp" did not like Good because he was not in Washington "for power" but was "willing to take on the hard fights."
Good was also backed by the anti-tax Club for Growth and the political arm of the House Freedom Caucus.
Eventually, McGuire also outspent Good, with his supporters pouring $7.5 million into the race, which included $6.9 million from groups linked to McCarthy and his allies.
Groups backing Good, meanwhile, spent nearly $5.5 million on ads.
McGuire is expected to win in the heavily-red 5th District in November. Trump carried that district by 8 percentage points in 2020.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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