Representative Bob Good’s primary race for his congressional seat is still too close to call, and his complaints about the election are drawing insults and mockery from his fellow House Republicans.
Good is currently trailing state Senator John McGuire III, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, by 373 votes and has called for a “do-over” in the city of Lynchburg. Good also claimed that three precincts in his district had fires on Election Day last week, despite state election officials saying that there were no fires, only fire alarms. On Thursday, Good even said on Steve Bannon’s show War Room that he has “lawyers at the ready.”
“We’re going to have a full recount. We’re going to have a full investigation,” Good told Bannon. “It’s going to stretch out for a couple of weeks.”
“It’s the swamp versus the Freedom Caucus. Are we going to allow the seat to be bought by the McCarthy revenge tour?” Good added, referring to ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s efforts to target the representatives who vacated his speakership.
But Good’s Republican colleagues scoffed at his allegations of election misconduct.
“No one is buying it, but all understand this is one of the several stages of electoral grief,” one House Republican told Axios anonymously, adding that Good’s attacks on the electoral process are “the reflexive thing people who can’t accept loss say these days.”
“F**k Bob Good. Bob Good is a sore loser. His defeat strengthens our majority,” another House Republican said, while a different anonymous GOP representative said, “I assume Bob Good is full of s**t.”
Other House Republicans called out Good openly.
“[Of] course Bob is claiming election fraud. He is grasping at straws to help save his political career,” said Representative Derrick Van Orden, who endorsed McGuire.
Representative Mike Lawler noted that Good mentioned Lynchburg despite winning the majority of votes there. “What a loser,” Lawler said.
The whole reason that Good, who heads the far-right House Freedom Caucus, even had a tough primary battle in the first place was because he endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary, earning him Trump’s ire. After DeSantis withdrew from the race, Good tried to get into Trump’s good graces, even traveling to Trump’s hush-money trial in Manhattan to help Trump skirt his gag order in the case.
That was all for naught, as Trump would endorse McGuire and call out Good as “BAD FOR VIRGINIA, AND BAD FOR THE USA.”
