Bob Good Trails in Battle for His Virginia Seat, but Primary Remains Too Close to Call

Both the congressman and his Trump-backed challenger are election deniers, raising the question of whether either would accept an adverse result in his own race.

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Representative Bob Good, the chairman of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, trailed his opponent by 300 or so votes as mail-in ballots were still being counted.

Representative Bob Good, Republican of Virginia and the chairman of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, was fighting on Thursday to hang onto his seat, as his primary race against a challenger backed by former President Donald J. Trump remained too close to call.

The contest between two election deniers, which has turned ugly and personal, was potentially headed for a recount that could drag on for weeks. With more than 95 percent of the votes counted, John J. McGuire, a little-known state senator and former Navy SEAL who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally outside the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, had a lead over Mr. Good of a little more than 300 votes, according to The Associated Press. Mail-in votes were still being counted, and Mr. Good said he could still prevail.

But that did not stop Mr. McGuire, who has pitched himself to voters as the true Trump loyalist and criticized Mr. Good for his vote to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, from declaring victory on Tuesday night before the final votes were counted.

Virginia does not have a requirement for an automatic recount, but if the winner is ahead by less than 1 percent, either candidate can request one. It was a rare instance in which both candidates in a photo-finish race had promoted the lie that Mr. Trump won the 2020 presidential election, raising questions about whether either would accept an adverse outcome in his own contest.

“The law provides a process for evaluating the accuracy of all the vote totals from Election Day to ensure everyone can have full confidence in the certified results,” Mr. Good wrote on social media. “Provisional ballots and mail-in ballots are also still to be counted. We are asking for full transparency from the officials involved and patience from the people of the 5th District over the coming weeks as the certification of results is completed.”

The state of play raised resting heart rates among Mr. McGuire’s powerful supporters, who had been projecting confidence about a decisive, double-digit victory, and assuring Mr. Trump of such an outcome. Mr. Trump’s endorsement proved powerful enough to propel the little-known state senator to a virtual tie with the well-known incumbent. But it also demonstrated the limits of the former president’s power, as his support failed to clinch a decisive win for Mr. McGuire.

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