The MAGA civil war surrounding House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good’s (R-Va.) primary in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District is coming to a head, pitting usual bedfellows against each other.
The intraparty battle has pitted former President Trump against some of his top allies, including his former chief strategist Steve Bannon and Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) and Byron Donalds (R-Florida), who support Good. Trump endorsed state Sen. John McGuire, a former Navy SEAL.
For Trump, the dispute is incredibly personal, dating back to last year when Good endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) presidential candidacy while Trump faced multiple charges.
“That was ‘This guy screwed me. This guy stabbed me at the lowest moment when I was indicted,’” said John Fredericks, a conservative talk radio host who chaired Trump’s presidential campaigns in Virginia in 2016 and 2020. “’Thanks, Bob.’”
Virginia’s 5th District stretches from the western suburbs of Richmond to Charlottesville and Lynchburg and all the way south to the North Carolina border. Although the district is a safe and relatively rural Republican seat, its Republican primary attracted national attention thanks to Trump’s decision to intervene.
Other Republicans besides the former president also spoke out against Good after the incumbent congressman faced them in other races. Over the weekend, Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.), who survived a Good-backed primary challenger last week, chartered a bus from Washington, D.C., to the 5th District. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has also launched a revenge effort against those who tried to impeach him last year, with Good at the top of that list.
Freedom Caucus members Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) campaigned alongside Good in Louisa County on Friday. But on Sunday, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Va.), another member of the Freedom Caucus, publicly turned his back on the group’s chairmanship by endorsing McGuire.
“To get the majority of votes, to be successful and to win, you have to mix things up,” said Zack Roday, a Republican strategist based in the district. “The narrative, the challenge of national politics, these factors, but certainly also tactically on the ground, you need to be very well organized.”
Recent polls show McGuire with a comfortable lead over Good. A poll released Wednesday by the conservative Virginia Faith and Freedom Coalition found that McGuire led Good with 41 percent support to 31 percent. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they were undecided.
Good’s campaign praised his ground game, announcing Monday that the candidate had made 208,000 direct contacts with voters. The campaign noted that “the performance is more than five times the expected voter turnout for the 5th District primary.”
“I see a lot of signs that Bob Good knows what he’s doing and certainly John McGuire knows what he’s doing,” Roday said.
Good has been careful in his handling of Trump, even as the former president leads a revenge effort against him. The congressman continued to publicly link himself to Trump; Prior to the former president’s endorsement of McGuire, Good even traveled with other congressional Republicans to New York City to support Trump in his criminal trial to hide the money.
Good’s campaign put up signs labeling him as a “Trump Republican” and included the phrase “Make America Great Again” in press releases. Last month, Trump’s lawyers sent Good a cease and desist letter ordering Good to stop using Trump’s name and likeness in his campaign material.
“What Good did a good job of doing was trying to muddy the waters for road signs,” said one Republican strategist. “He’s running as an ally of Trump, so he’s trying to neutralize the endorsement.”
While Republicans point out that the race has created an obvious divide within the party, many are skeptical that it will have any consequences for the GOP after Tuesday’s primaries.
“It’s not crashing the party as much as people think. There is a reason why the Donalds and Gaetz are endorsing Good,” said the same Republican strategist.
The strategist noted how Good and many of his allies are united in their association with the conservative group Club for Growth. In addition to Good, the group supported Donalds, Gaetz, Roy, Clyde and Biggs.
“There will be no dissension afterwards, but this is about Trump defending who runs the party and Bob Good not being able to read the tea leaves,” the strategist said.
Others say the infighting among House conservatives shouldn’t come as a shock.
“Members of the Freedom Caucus pursuing their own interests is no surprise,” said Doug Heye, a GOP strategist. “It seemed inevitable from its inception.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
