GOOCHLAND, Va. — a recount of the votes cast in the Republican primary in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District will be held July 31 to decide whether a challenger backed by former President Donald Trump will maintain 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 rules for the process during a hearing Thursday in Goochland County Circuit Court, where Good filed a petition for the recount after State election officials have recognized Sen. John McGuire as the winner with 374 votes out of almost 63,000 votes cast, or six-tenths of a percentage point.
State law allows Good to request 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 have to pay for the recount. Worrell said he has estimated the cost of the recount at $96,500, though he said that figure could change depending on how long the process takes.
If the recount confirms McGuire as the winner, Good would become the first incumbent House representative nationwide to lose a primary this year, with the exception of one race in which two incumbents faced off due to district redrawing.
In requesting the recount, Good, who has served in Congress since 2021 and chairs the far-right House Freedom Caucus, cited what he called voting irregularities in Lynchburg and elsewhere. Election officials have said the count is accurate and they are confident in the results.
Good, who attended Thursday’s hearing, said he just wants to look at the votes to make sure the count is accurate.
“I think conservatives across the country and across the Commonwealth want to make sure that this result is accurate and reflects the true intentions of all voters in this election,” Good said after the hearing.
After Good endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP presidential primary, Trump backed McGuire, a former Navy SEAL, and called Good a traitor.
Good also alienated the Republican elite with his efforts to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. A Republican political action committee, Defending Main Street, which almost always spends money to support GOP members, launched a $450,000 ad campaign against Good.
Two of McGuire’s attorneys who attended the hearing declined to comment afterward.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Gloria Witt in a predominantly conservative district in November.
Worrell appointed two other judges — Judge Christopher Papile of Newport News and J. Christopher Clemens of Salem — to join him on a three-judge panel that will oversee the recount. Worrell said the vote count will begin at 7:30 a.m. on July 31 and will continue until all ballots are counted.
Good will get his campaign money back if the recount results in his victory.
