House Freedom Caucus chair Bob Good's campaign is raising money for recount, cost TBD
RICHMOND, Va. —The election results in Virginia’s hard-fought Fifth Congressional District primary were officially certified on Tuesday by the state board of elections, as constituents and candidates wait for what could be a costly recount in a Republican race that pitted two conservatives who both sought to curry favor with Donald Trump.
State Sen. John McGuire held on to his 374-vote lead over incumbent and Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Bob Good. That margin, at 0.6%, is just over the threshold to trigger a state-funded recount should Good request one. And he is expected to, but he will need to pay for it.
Diana Shores, Good’s campaign manager, said the campaign is raising money for the recount but the cost has yet to be determined. Good’s campaign will have 10 days after the election is certified to request a recount.
The primary had been a nasty display of Republican in-fighting as both candidates competed for the attention of Trump, the former president and presumptive 2024 GOP White House nominee. Both candidates traveled to New York City to show their support for Trump during his hush money trial, but ultimately McGuire walked away with the coveted endorsement and a 374-vote margin of victory.
The recount process in Virginia
To kick off the recount, the campaign must first petition a judge and if that petition is accepted, the judge will set parameters including the location and date of the recount. The cost will be determined once those parameters have been laid.
Good told Politico’s Olivia Beavers on June 25 that he plans to go through a recount and that he has the funds to pay for it.
Sean Brown, a spokesperson for McGuire’s campaign, said their campaign feels “fine” about the potential recount, and that they don’t expect it to change the results of the election.
“The votes have been cast, counted, and certified. The people have spoken, and they have chosen John McGuire as their nominee in Virginia’s Fifth District,” he said via text message on Tuesday. “We are focused on the General Election and working every day to make sure President Trump wins Virginia and is elected the 47th President of the United States this November.”
Doubt cast by Good on election integrity
Good had begun sowing seeds of doubt in the primary as he trailed his challenger, state Sen. John McGuire, by roughly 300 votes, since the June 18 election.
On June 23, he tweeted that the race “cannot and must not be certified.”
“If Rep. Good has concerns about the administration of the election, Virginia law provides mechanisms for him to raise those issues, including recounts and election contests. However, the certification process is not the place to resolve election disputes,” Emily Rodriguez, spokesperson for Protect Democracy, said in a June 25 statement. Protect Democracy is a non-partisan non-profit that focused on protecting free and fair elections.
Good did not address the Virginia Board of Elections during Tuesday's meeting, when the primary election results were certified.
Rich Anderson, chair of the Republican Party of Virginia, issued his congratulations to McGuire in a June 24 statement. He also noted his support for Good’s right to seek a recount after the July 2 election certification.
Though the final winner of the primary is expected to win the Congressional seat in November in the staunchly conservative Fifth District, he will face Gloria Witt, the Democratic challenger who won her primary on June 18.
Trump campaign hiring “election integrity” staff in commonwealth
Anderson also said the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign are “jointly making significant monetary and manpower investments this year in Election Integrity (EI) operations in Virginia.”
“They have hired significant staff and are working to place 500 lawyers and 5,000 volunteers across our Commonwealth in strategic locations to safeguard our elections and ensure that the 2024 election is fairly and legally run,” he said in his June 24 statement.
The Virginia Board of Elections already has strong, non-partisan, rules and safeguards in place to ensure election integrity.
“We take very seriously our responsibility to train and support local registrars on rules, guidelines, and best practices. All Virginians can remain confident that our elections are fair and secure,” Andrea Gaines, spokesperson for the state board of elections said in a statement.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Virginia's Fifth District primary election drama continues
