(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., brushed off the anonymous allegations from Capitol Hill insiders that his recent primary defeat by a razor-thin margin was the result of an abrasive personal demeanor.
In a statement to Headline USA through his communications director, Marjorie Jackson, Good said the halls of Congress were no place for sugar-coating the work that needed to be done in order for lawmakers to do right by their constituents.
“I believe we should do what we tell people we are going to do when we ask them to vote for us and trust us with the majority,” Good said in the statement.
“With $35 trillion in debt, a border invasion, and an unprecedented assault on our constitutional freedoms, we cannot afford to wait till the next election to fight for the American people,” he added. “We should use every tool available to reverse the harm caused by the Democrat policies that are destroying our country and causing so much suffering.”
Despite having one of the most conservative voting records in all of Congress, Good—the current chair of the House Freedom Caucus— lost his primary election in Virginia’s 5th District by 0.6% of the vote to state Sen. John McGuire.
The contentious primary race made national headlines after Good and presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump each backed the other’s primary opponent—a significant departure from the days when Trump drew some of his staunchest support from Freedom Caucus members (even selecting two chiefs of staff, former Reps. Mick Mulvaney and Mark Meadows, from its ranks).
Good declined to endorse Trump until Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—another Freedom Caucus alumnus—dropped out of the race in January. Consequently, he became the object of Trump’s ire.
Good also invited attacks from loyalists to ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., after he was one of the “Gaetz Eight” who voted with Democrats to invoke the motion to vacate the speakership.
“I didn’t come to Washington to make friends, and some of my colleagues are angry with me because they have to answer for their bad votes when they go back home,” Good said in his statement to Headline USA. “If they can’t defend these votes, they should vote differently.”
Good, however, ultimately reaped the political consequences of his tough decisions, including the dubious achievement of uniting both Trump’s America First populist supporters and the D.C. insiders of the McCarthy-linked Republican Main Street Partnership against his campaign.
Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a well-known ally of both Trump and McCarthy, made several withering statements against Good, going as far as to call him “toxic” to Trump’s reelection efforts.
Speaking anonymously to the Daily Caller on Monday, some Capitol insiders took it to an even more personal level.
“He’s an a**hole” said one individual.
A Republican member of Congress elaborated: “He’s perhaps the most unlikable guy in Congress, and that’s saying a lot with the likes of some others who are major-league a**holes. I don’t think there is anyone in Congress, conservative or not, who would pee on Bob Good if he was on fire.”
A GOP ad-maker accused him of getting “out-hustled” by McGuire on the campaign trail.
“Bob Good decided to spend his time in Washington making enemies out of literally everyone he met,” the source said. “He wasn’t being a principled conservative; he was being an unnecessary jerk.”
The aftermath of the primary battle, with its razor-thin finish in an unpredictable district that encompasses both ultra-liberal Charlottesville and the Jerry Falwell-influenced Lynchburg, has brought little closure to the wounds that were openened during the course of the campaign.
According to Good, three of the voting precincts mysteriously caught fire on Election Day.
He also signaled his intention to move forward with a recount, even though 374-vote gap in the final tally fell outside the 0.5% threshold for the state to cover it—meaning Good must foot the bill himself.
“In a race with nearly 63,000 votes that is separated by a 0.6% margin, Republican voters across the 5th District deserve to know that all legal votes have been accurately counted,” Good’s campaign manager, Diana Shores, told the Daily Caller. “We will vigorously pursue that objective over the coming days and weeks, as permitted by Virginia law.”
Good—who took over from Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., as the fifth chair of the Freedom Caucus at the start of the current session—may not finish his term in the leadership role. Politico reported indicated that fellow caucus members were privately discussing his replacement following the presumptive primary defeat.
Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.
