Good is locked in tight race with Trump-backed rival

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R) is fighting a surprisingly close battle to retain his Virginia seat against primary challenger John McGuire, who has the support of former President Trump.

Trump and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) were both aligned with McGuire, and many expected Good to be easily defeated. But the race ended up much closer than expected, with the two candidates separated by a fraction of a point in the fight for the seat in the 5th Congressional District.

With more than 90 percent of votes reported at the time of publication, Good trailed McGuire by about 500 votes, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Good drew Trump’s fury when he supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the Republican presidential primary, and although the conservative lawmaker quickly moved to support Trump after DeSantis’ departure, the former president argued that support had arrived too late.

Good also got on McCarthy’s bad side when he joined seven other Republicans and all Democrats in the historic vote to remove the California lawmaker from his House leadership role last year. McCarthy’s Majority Committee PAC contributed to McGuire.

The closely watched race could end the House incumbents’ winning streak so far this cycle, with the exception of a rare incumbent-vs.-incumbent contest in Alabama that was driven by redistricting.

In Oklahoma, incumbent Rep. Tom Cole (R) battled several primary challengers Tuesday night to win the GOP nomination for his House seat in the Sooner State’s 4th Congressional District.

If McGuire ultimately prevails, the race would be McCarthy’s first major victory as he targets Republicans who voted to impeach him. His revenge tour got off to a rocky start last week when South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace (R) easily won her primary against a challenger backed by McCarthy’s PAC.

Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), a member of the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus, which Good chairs, endorsed McGuire earlier this week, highlighting tensions in the party surrounding the deep-red seat in central Virginia.

But Good has the support of other members of the Freedom Caucus, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida).

“We are currently still awaiting final results from today’s primary election,” Good said he said in a post on X around 11 p.m. ET, thanking his supporters.

He noted that the district is still waiting on mail-in and provisional ballots, and said his staff is working to “ensure all votes are properly counted in the coming days.”

There are no automatic recounts in Virginia, although losing candidates can request one when there is one. difference not exceeding one percentage point.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story