Rep. Bob Good will seek recount after Virginia council certifies primary results

Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., plans to do a recount after the Virginia board of elections certified the results of his primary, which show the House Freedom Caucus chairman trailing his Republican opponent.

Results from last month’s Republican primary in Virginia’s 5th District show state Sen. John McGuire ahead of Good, who faced opposition from former President Donald Trump and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, by just 374 votes or fewer of 1 percentage point.

This puts the race within the margin that allows a candidate to request a recount. But the margin is wide enough that Good would have to cover the costs of a recount himself, not the state.

“People in our district are contacting our campaign demanding that we do a recount. Our donors, our volunteers and our supporters expect this,” Good’s campaign manager and senior adviser Diana Shores said in a statement to NBC News. “It’s not about Bob Good. It’s about the people of the district.”

“Thousands of dollars in donations have already been received for our recount efforts,” Shores added. “We will proceed with the recount to resolve any concerns about the fairness or transparency of the electoral process. This way, voters can move forward with confidence to the general election.”

Shores’ statement came ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s Virginia State Board of Elections meeting, during which the board certified primary results showing McGuire leading the GOP primary in the deeply Republican 5th District. Good, the chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, has 10 days to formally request a recount.

“I think we can safely say we had a free and fair election,” said board President John O’Bannon, according to a livestream of the meeting.

McGuire had Trump’s support in the race and millions of dollars in support on the airwaves from outside groups, including some linked to McCarthy. Good was one of eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy last year.

Good raised concerns, without providing evidence, about the validity of vote counts in certain areas of the district.

Good risks becoming the first incumbent GOP member of Congress to lose to a primary opponent this election cycle.