House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good is in a fierce re-election battle with an opponent who is gaining ground among members of Congress on a “revenge tour” to remove him from office.
Rep. Good (R-Va.) was one of the Republicans who voted to impeach House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October, and now faces opposition from GOP members who disagreed with the removal of the former president.
John McGuire, meanwhile, is running for Good’s seat and has earned the backing of some high-profile lawmakers in Congress, including Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Buenas states, however, that it is not necessarily a positive thing to have more support from the ‘swamp’ than those in the district and highlighted a long list of his supporters in Virginia’s 5th district.
Good’s campaign manager told DailyMail.com that McGuire is being used as a “puppet” for those in DC who are on a “revenge campaign” against Good after he joined seven other Republicans in voting to unseat to the former McCarthy.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good’s re-election campaign in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District shows the fractures in the Republican Party as those aligned with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy launch a “revenge campaign” “against those who expelled him.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (L), who did not want McCarthy expelled and was herself expelled from the Freedom Caucus, backs John McGuire’s (R) attempt to unseat Rep. Good.
And the congressman’s campaign says the revenge tour isn’t working.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is among lawmakers outside of Virginia seeking to bolster McGuire’s bid to unseat Good, and she’s not shy about voicing her opinion on her right-wing colleague.
“He is the biggest traitor,” she told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview this week.
Greene’s vendetta against Good and her Freedom Caucus stems from the group’s vote of about 50 members to expel her from the group behind her back. She was also aligned with McCarthy.
He noted that Good received about $2 million in his 2022 election from a McCarthy-aligned super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), then turned around and voted to oust the California Republican from the House’s top job. .
“It’s an incredible amount of money, and then you turn around, stab him in the back and vote to vacate him as president.” “This is a pattern of behavior,” Greene said.
“I think the people of Bob Good’s district need to understand what a liar and traitor Bob Good is,” he continued.
Rep. Good (center) invited some of his highest-profile supporters to his so-called ‘Freedom Tour’ in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, where dozens of local and state leaders support his re-election bid.
Greene filed a motion last month to impeach new House Speaker Mike Johnson after Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who supported Good, used the same tactic to oust McCarthy from office in October.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) came out to campaign for McGuire in the June 18 House primary in Virginia.
Despite having previously campaigned for Good and vowing last year not to run against the conservative leader for his House seat, McGuire has launched a bid and is selling himself as the most pro-Trump candidate.
“He’s met President Trump and it turns out that President Trump likes him,” Greene, who is in frequent contact with the former president, said of McGuire.
Membership in the Freedom Caucus was once the pinnacle of conservative bona fides. Now, a firestorm from Trump’s inner circle may threaten to drive out even the right’s staunchest devotees.
‘My constituents know me and trust me. They know I represent them and their interests, not the interests of DC Swamp,’ Good told DailyMail.com when asked about his rival. “The people of VA-5 want a fighter with guts, not empty promises from just another politician constantly seeking another position.”
“I am honored to have the support of countless local leaders whom I am proud to serve and work with to restore our nation to its founding vision and improve the lives of our constituents.”
DailyMail.com can exclusively share two new endorsements Good recently earned: House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) and Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.).
John McGuire claims he is the candidate most aligned with Trump after Representative Good said in the 2016 election that Donald Trump was his last choice for president and then endorsed his main competitor, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in 2024. Pictured: Virginia Congressional candidate John McGuire with Donald Trump.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) leads the list of high-profile endorsements of Good, but other lawmakers include Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz and Byron Donalds of Florida; Scott Perry of Pennsylvania; Eli Crane of Arizona; John Brecheen of Oklahoma; and Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
Virginia Rep. Ben Cline also endorses the head of the Freedom Caucus.
Good also has a long list of endorsements from local leaders in his Virginia district, including three sheriffs, 15 chairs and four vice chairs of different Republican parties in his district, five school board members, and a handful of other board members. County.
McGuire’s team did not provide DailyMail.com with a list of his endorsements, but in the district where he runs his endorsements appear thin.
The limited list includes a president of the Campbell County Board of Supervisors, two former Campbell County supervisors, Lynchburg Mayor Stephanie Reed, who is an independent, and a Buckingham County sheriff.
Good’s campaign noted that McGuire appears to have more support in the DC ‘swamp’ than in the district he wants to represent.
The “swamp” endorsements Good’s campaign is referring to include Reps. Greene, Rogers, Derrick Van Orden (R-Minn.) and Austin Scott (R-Ga.).
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a close ally and former adviser to Trump, also endorsed McGuire.
Good’s campaign manager, Diana Shores, accused McCarthy and his allies of supporting McGuire’s candidacy in retaliation.
She told DailyMail.com: “Our opponent is simply a puppet willing to be used by the Washington establishment in their campaign of revenge against Congressman Good, who fights and defends his constituents every day.”
But Good will also have to deal with his record in the 2024 presidential race.
The Virginia Republican originally endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a disloyalty that Trump does not take lightly. Good only endorsed Trump minutes after DeSantis ended his presidential campaign.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who also endorsed DeSantis’ presidential bid and is now endorsing Good, told DailyMail.com: “Enthusiasm for Bob Good runs deep among Virginians outside the Beltway.”
“(He) is a proven America First conservative who irritates all the people on the right by daring to do what he said he would do,” Roy said, adding, “We need more Bob Goods in Congress.”
A Facebook post from November 2016 showed Good saying that Trump was “about my 17th pick out of 17” in the Republican primaries and noted that he had supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, but would vote for Trump since the alternative was Hillary Clinton.
“Bob Good won’t be eligible when we’re done with him,” Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign manager, told Cardinal News in January.
But so far, the embattled Virginia congressman is safe from an attack by Trump, and the former president is silent on the race for Virginia’s 5th District.
Still, Good earned the support of Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
To combat growing support for McGuire, Good held a Freedom Tour event in his district last week with a host of sponsors.
Meadows, as well as Reps. Gaetz, Clyde, Roy and Andy Biggs (R-Az.) are just a few of the lawmakers who came to Virginia to support Bob Good’s re-election campaign.