Rep. Bob Good says he informed his House Freedom Caucus members that he will step aside as the group’s chair if the Virginia conservative ultimately does not emerge victorious in the state recount for his GOP primary race.
Good briefed the entire MAGA-aligned group of his plans in a closed-door meeting earlier this week, though he said the leadership board of the Freedom Caucus was aware beforehand. His remarks come as Good moves forward with requesting an official recount this week after the Commonwealth certified that his challenger John McGuire led him by more than 300 votes.
And while he hopes to make up the deficit of votes and emerge victorious, Good is nonetheless signaling that he is working with the group to make contingency plans.
“I told the membership that if I didn't do well in my recount that I would step down as chair,” Good confirmed for the first time publicly in an interview with POLITICO on Wednesday. “I think that would probably be in the best interest of the organization. … Just so that's not the story all the time.”
His remarks come after Punchbowl News first reported his privately shared plans Wednesday morning.
Good also dismissed recent media reports that he lacks the proper funds to move forward with a recount while acknowledging he told supporters his campaign is predicting a price tag ranging from $75,000 to $100,000. But that, he says, all depends on how much the state ultimately charges him to process more than 60,000 ballots in addition to legal costs.
“I believe that I filed today. We contemplated waiting right up to the deadline. … You had to file it by Friday, 10 days after certification. We couldn't file it until it was certified,” Good said.
As for his potential successor, he declined to name names but noted that he is “confident” that the Freedom Caucus board has “very strong, capable individuals” who can rise to the occasion.
“They don’t need me as chair, they just need a good board chair,” he said, no pun intended.
Good also argued that despite attacks from his critics, the changes he’s made under his leadership were already set in motion by his predecessors — a ball he kept rolling and one he predicts will continue rolling in the same direction, no matter who is leading the group.
“I would challenge anyone to substantiate any claims that I have taken HFC in a direction that's different than Perry or Biggs,” he said, pointing to former HFC Chairs Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.). “These high-profile conflicts and fights we have predated me.”
“The board is pretty united and the majority of HFC is united,” Good added.
Still, one fight does center around Good. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) was ejected from the Freedom Caucus over his decision to back Good’s opponent, as first reported by POLITICO. The effort was led by one of his allies and proved to further anger those who were close to Davidson, including Freedom Caucus co-founder Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Davidson was kicked out after being found as a member not in good standing, which lowered the threshold to needing only a simple majority to remove him.
But if it does ultimately come down to a new chair search, Good is still deciding whether he will privately make his preference known.
“Probably, but I don’t know,” he said, noting that they respect each other’s opinions but do not control one another.
Some names cropping up include Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Andy Harris (R-Md.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), as well as Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.).
