Rep. Bob Good says he will try to block certification of his Republican primary while following challenger

Rep. Bob Good said Monday that his campaign would take legal action to “try to block the certification” of the Republican primary election in a key city in Virginia’s 5th District as he trails his opponent in counting votes.

NBC News did not call the race between Good, the chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, and his Republican opponent, John McGuire, a state senator who currently leads by a few hundred votes after last Tuesday’s election.

Good claimed during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast on Monday that Lynchburg, Virginia, “has not secured its drop boxes.”

“There is no accountability as to when these boxes were opened,” Good said. “They were apparently left stuffed for two or three days after the election.”

“We will present the legal challenge in the coming days to demonstrate that Lynchburg, the largest city, cannot be certified,” he added.

Neither Good’s campaign nor Lynchburg’s election board chairman immediately responded to a request for comment.

Also good complained on X last week, fires broke out in three electoral districts on election day. “What is the probability? Does anyone remember a fire at a police station on election day?

Given the narrow margin, the race between Good and McGuire could be headed for a recount. If candidates are separated by less than 1 percentage point, the candidate may request a recount, as per Virginia State Law. If the margin is less than half a percentage point, the counties and cities would pay for the recount, but otherwise the candidate would have to cover the costs.

Good appears to be preparing for this possibility, telling Bannon, “I hate to be rude about this, Steve, but we exhausted resources trying to win the primary. We believe we won the primary, even though we spent a lot more. I need help funding the challenge of the recount, the challenge of certification, the challenge of getting a hand count, a paper ballot that matches that.”

In the interview with Bannon, Good also criticized McGuire’s support from Republicans such as former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, although he did not mention that former President Donald Trump also supported McGuire.

“Look, look who is supporting my opponent. It’s the Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Eric Cantor types, the swamp people, the RINOs, for whom endless wars, loyalty to the military industrial complex. That’s who is financing my opponent. It’s who is supporting my opponent. He would vote very differently than I would in Washington.”

Good risks becoming the first member of Congress to lose to a primary opponent this election cycle. The winner of the Republican Party primary in Virginia’s 5th District will be heavily favored in the general election.