As the Republican primary in Virginia’s 5th district reaches a conclusion on June 18, a poll released by the Virginia Faith & Freedom Coalition shows Virginia Senator John McGuire
(R-Goochland) with a 10 percent lead
over his opponent, incumbent Rep. Bob Good (R-VA).
Despite Good’s position as the head of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and his professed loyalty to the GOP shot-caller, former President and recently convicted felon Donald Trump, his endorsement of presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in early May seems to have been what soured the Trump loyalists against his campaign. McGuire received the former president’s seal of approval on May 28, quickly capitalizing on Trump’s popularity in the deeply red 5th district as the former president’s account on his Truth Social platform accused Good of being “BAD for Virginia” and saying he had “turned his back on our incredible movement.”
A little over 48 hours after this endorsement of his opponent, Good’s problems appeared to only get worse, as Trump’s lawyers sent the Congressman a cease-and-desist letter over campaign signage featuring both Good’s and Trump’s names, accusing Good of being “a fraud.”
“It has come to our attention that your campaign is producing yard signs purporting to indicate President Trump’s endorsement of your candidacy,” the letter from attorney David Warrington read. “You know that is false. In fact, President Trump has endorsed your opponent, John McGuire.”
Many residents of the 5th district will likely know that the signs in question predate the endorsement of McGuire and are reportedly from the 2022 campaign, in which Bob Good had the endorsement of the former president; nevertheless, there are unconfirmed reports that the signs bearing both names are still being distributed at campaign events in the area.
As the primary entered its final weeks, it appeared to be smooth sailing for McGuire, who has run in successive elections in recent years at both the federal and state levels. Then, on June 6, an open letter was released from the 5th District Republican Committee to Trump bearing the signatures of prominent local Republicans, urging the former president to reconsider his endorsement.
“[McGuire] has a history of lying to the voters and only representing his own ambitions rather than the needs of his constituents. In 2023, he repeatedly told voters that he would not run against Congressman Bob Good only to file to run for Congress less than 2 weeks after he was elected to the Virginia Senate and before he was even sworn into office,” the letter read.
McGuire was elected first in 2017, running a successful campaign for the 56th district of the House of Delegates against Democrat Melissa Dart. Then, in 2019, he ran for reelection successfully against Democrat Juanita Jo Matkins and again in 2021. In 2020 and 2022, he launched unsuccessful bids for U.S. Congress in the 7th district, losing to Nick Freitas and Yesli Vega, respectively, both of whom would go on to lose the general election to Rep. Abigail Spanberger. In 2023, he ran for State Senate unopposed in District 10, and while his promises of not running against Good are unconfirmed, he did announce one week after winning his seat—and prior to taking his oath of office—that he was running for the 5th District of Virginia in the United States Congress.
McGuire, a veteran and owner of a personal training company called Seal Team Physical Training, wouldn’t be the first primary challenger to make headlines by upsetting a powerful congressional Republican. In 2014, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was upset by Republican and Randolph-Macon Professor Dave Brat. That election made national headlines and was described by the LA Times as “one of the greatest political upsets in modern times,” with Cantor out-spending Brat 40-to-1.
According to VPAP, as of March 31, Good had raised $855,792 to McGuire’s $496,447. Their expenditure data was not yet available at press time, but independent expenditures—money that third party groups had spent to run ads for or against one of the candidates—totaled to almost $8.5 million. Pro-McGuire and anti-Good ads totaled to just over $5 million, and pro-Good/anti-McGuire ads accounted for the other $3.5.
Andre Henline, a Louisa County business owner and long-time Republican, said that he was “team McGuire.” When asked if he could articulate why, he said that it was a combination of McGuire’s personal touch and Good’s incessant attack ads.
“I’ve met [McGuire] a handful of times in Mineral,” he said. “[Good’s] campaign is bugging the shit out of me. His campaign smearing [the opponent] really turns me off.”
Neither candidate is without controversy. McGuire’s presence at the January 6 riot at the capitol—though he says he never entered the capitol building—has been a frequent point of contention for his detractors. Good, however, is a proud member of what is informally called the “Sedition Caucus,” a disparaging nickname for the members of the house and senate who voted not to certify the election of Joe Biden. Former Capitol Police Officer Michael Fanone recently said publicly that both Good and McGuire should be barred from holding public office because of their support of the former president’s actions in 2020.
The winner of the Republican primary will face off against one of the three Democrats—Paul Riley, Gary Terry, and Gloria Tinsley Witt—running in the Democratic primary, which also ends June 18.
Neither Republican candidate returned repeated messages seeking comment in time for publication.