"No one is buying" Rep. Good's election claim
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🙄 Rep. Bob Good's (R-Va.) efforts to sow doubts about the results of his too-close-to-call GOP primary are being met with eye rolls from many of his House Republican colleagues.
- 🤔 The House Freedom Caucus chair is tapping into a strain of election denialism common in Donald Trump's Republican Party — but isn't getting the widespread GOP support Trump enjoyed when he claimed the 2020 election was "rigged."
- "No one is buying it, but all understand this is one of the several stages of electoral grief," said one House Republican, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
🚗 Driving the news: Good has said he plans to challenge the result if the race is called for his opponent, state Sen. John McGuire, and has demanded a "do-over" in one county.
- 🗳️ He trailed McGuire by just 368 votes out of more than 62,000 cast in the primary, with mail-in votes to be counted.
- Good said on Steve Bannon's podcast today that he'll try to block certification of the results as he seeks an investigation.
Good was backed by several of his fellow House GOP hardliners, but McGuire had the support of Trump and more than a half-dozen of Good's GOP colleagues.
- 🥊 Good earned Trump's disdain by initially endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP presidential primaries.
- 😒 He also annoyed many House GOP colleagues by joining with several other conservatives in voting to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
💥 What they're saying: "[Of] course Bob is claiming election fraud. He is grasping at straws to help save his political career," said Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who endorsed McGuire.
- Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) noting that Good has focused his claims on Lynchburg despite winning there, said: "What a loser."
Good's campaign said in a statement that "the people of our district are reaching out to our campaign demanding that we pursue a recount. Our donors, our volunteers, and our supporters expect it."
🧂 Former Rep. Denver Riggleman, a Virginia Republican-turned-independent who lost to Good in 2020, added a little salt by noting that McGuire and Good have both echoed Trump's claims about the 2020 election.
- "I don't find it surprising that an election between an election denier and an election denier would end with one of them denying the election was fair based on conspiracy theories," Riggleman said.
