House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., has lost his primary recount, a Virginia court certified Thursday, cementing his narrow defeat to GOP state Sen. John McGuire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The recount results confirmed McGuire beat Good after McGuire initially led Good by just 374 votes in the June primary in Virginia\u2019s 5th District<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Good had said he would step down<\/a> as chairman of the hard-right Freedom Caucus if he didn\u2019t prevail in the recount. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The recount officially brings the race to an end, with Good becoming the first sitting House Republican to lose to a primary challenger this year. Good faced a broad coalition of GOP opposition, which included former President Donald Trump and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump jumped into the race shortly before the June 18 primary by endorsing McGuire, who attended the \u201cStop the Steal\u201d rally that preceded the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and walked to the U.S. Capitol grounds, saying, \u201cWe felt like we were being cheated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n McGuire declined to commit to certifying the 2024 presidential election results in an interview with NBC News shortly before the primary, saying he would \u201cneed to see what happens.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can understand why people lack trust in elections,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Good drew Trump\u2019s ire by backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the presidential primaries, and his subsequent endorsement of Trump wasn\u2019t enough to put him in Trump\u2019s good graces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump appeared in a TV ad and held a tele-rally for McGuire ahead of the primary, telling supporters: \u201cJohn is running against Bob Good, who is not good. Despite his name, he\u2019s very bad for Virginia.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n McGuire, a former Navy SEAL whose campaign slogan was \u201cWe can do better than Good,\u201d previously told NBC News that Trump\u2019s endorsement was helpful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve had many people say, \u2018I don\u2019t know anything about you, never met you before, but if Trump\u2019s endorsing you, I\u2019ve got you,\u2019\u201d McGuire said. \u201cI believe with all that Trump has been through he has earned the right to call the shots and pick his team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n McCarthy also played a role in the race as he looked to target the handful of Republicans who ousted him as speaker late last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside groups tied to McCarthy allies and GOP establishment donors blanketed the district\u2019s airwaves, spending $6.9 million against Good, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact. And while Good also had support from outside groups that helped match that spending, McGuire also vastly outspent Good on ads, helping to get his message out to the sprawling district. <\/p>\n\n\n\n McGuire acknowledged McCarthy had given him advice, noting he has spoken to McCarthy over the phone a few times. And he pointed to the vote to oust McCarthy as evidence that Good wasn\u2019t focused on helping his party or the district. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you\u2019re on the Republican team and you\u2019re part of the Democrat team to take out the Republican team, you\u2019re not on the Republican team,\u201d McGuire said. \u201cBob is on the Bob Good team.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n McGuire is expected to win in November, given the 5th District\u2019s Republican lean. Trump carried the district by 8 percentage points in 2020, according to calculations from Daily Kos Elections<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good joins two other members of Congress who failed to advance out of their primaries this year. Rep. Jerry Carl lost to a fellow incumbent<\/a>, Rep. Barry Moore, in an Alabama GOP primary spurred by redistricting. And Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a member of the \u201csquad\u201d of progressive lawmakers of color and a vocal Israel critic, lost to<\/a> Westchester County Executive George Latimer in a New York Democratic primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n