(Elias Irizarry, Headline USA) A highly contentious primary in Virginia’s 5th congressional district between incumbent Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., who sits as chairman of the Freedom Caucus, and challenger state Rep. John McGuire, who is backed by President Donald Trump and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has now escalated to allegations of intra-party election meddling.
“We had 3 ‘fires’ on election day in 3 precincts, all requiring the precincts to be evacuated for 20 minutes,” Good wrote Thursday night on his campaign X account.
“Albemarle County, Hanover County, and Lynchburg City,” he continued. “What is the probability? Does anyone recall even 1 fire at a precinct on election day?”
We had 3 “fires” on election day in 3 precincts, all requiring the precincts to be evacuated for 20 minutes. Albemarle County, Hanover County, and Lynchburg City. What is the probability? Does anyone recall even 1 fire at a precinct on election day?
— Bob Good for Congress (@GoodForCongress) June 21, 2024
In a follow-up post on the social media platform, Good calculated the miniscule probability that such a series of mishaps could occur randomly.
“AI estimates the probability being 0.0000000318% chance,” wrote Good.
The same day, Good appeared on the War Room podcast with his longtime ally Steve Bannon to discuss the pending results of the election, as well as the shenanigans that he alleges took place during the election.
Good claims poll workers in Albemarle County, which encompasses the city of Charlottesville, began the process of counting the ballots two hours early.
“Why did they start two hours early?” Good asked during his War Room appearance.
“Why was my opponent’s representative notified and we were not notified?” Good continued. “We don’t know what took place in those two hours.”
Today’s show on Bannon’s War Room pic.twitter.com/Q8eT3wPlTO
— Bob Good for Congress (@GoodForCongress) June 21, 2024
The current vote count stands with McGuire leading Good by approximately 300 votes, with over 60,000 votes counted in the primary. However, according to Good, these results are not absolute as mail-in ballots won’t even be counted until at least Friday.
Ironically, it’s not the first time in recent memory that accusations of fraud have occurred in the district involving rival Republicans.
In the 2020 primary, the incumbent at the time—self-described “Bigfoot scholar” and former Rep. Denver Riggleman—was unseated by Good 58% to 42% after controversy stemming from his officiating of a gay wedding.
Following his loss, Riggleman went on to become a vocal critic of Trump, condemning “outlandish theories surrounding this presidential election” in his farewell address, working as a senior staffer for the Jan. 6 committee, and even becoming a member of Hunter Biden’s legal team.
But before formally coming out as a leftist, Riggleman, from his official campaign account, accused Good of taking advantage of “voter irregularities and ballot stuffing.”
Voting irregularities and ballot stuffing has been reported in multiple counties in the #VA05. Voter fraud has been a hallmark of this nomination process and I will not stand for it. @VA_GOP needs to reevaluate their priorities. We are evaluating all our options at this time.
— Denver Lee Riggleman III (@Denver4VA) June 14, 2020
Good—whose 100% voting record on conservative causes makes hime one of the most reliable right-wing members in Congress—is not likely to follow the same path of his predecessor should his re-election bid fail.
For now, though, he’s focused on exercising every option available to him, including a full state-funded recount.
According to Virginia law, the current result of the election currently falls within the threshold for a state-funded recount.
“We’re going to have a full recount. We’re going to have a full investigation,” Good told Bannon.
“It’s going to stretch out for a couple of weeks,” he added. “We’ve got lawyers at the ready, thankfully—a tremendous number of lawyers at our disposal, many who are ready to help us.”
Good—one of the “Gaetz Eight” Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy last fall by invoking the motion to vacate, which the Freedom Caucus had initially helped to negotiate as a condition of its support for his speakership—has claimed he’s being targeted by the former speaker for his vote.
“Are we going to allow this seat to be bought by the McCarthy revenge tour?” Good asked Bannon. “We are going to make sure that every—to the best of our ability—every legal and legitimate vote is counted.”
