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Top Republican officials in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District are asking former President Donald Trump to rethink his endorsement of Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland County, in the district’s GOP primary election and to instead consider backing the incumbent, Rep. Bob Good, R-Campbell County.
“We the undersigned leaders of the 5th District Republican Congressional Committee strongly urge President Donald Trump to reconsider his endorsement of Congressman Bob Good’s opponent in the Republican Primary,” reads an open letter to the party’s presumptive presidential nominee that was signed by 25 party officials, including the vast majority of the district’s unit chairs and all of the district’s State Central Committee members.
“Congressman Bob Good has championed America First policies by introducing legislation to codify policies defunding chain migration and requiring that immigrants are self-sufficient. He also offered multiple bills that would build upon Trump’s regulatory relief for businesses across the country,” the letter said.
Trump formally endorsed McGuire in a post on his social media platform Truth Social last week, less than a month ahead of the June 18 statewide primary elections.
“Bob Good is BAD FOR VIRGINIA, AND BAD FOR THE USA,” Trump wrote in the post. “He turned his back on our incredible movement, and was constantly attacking and fighting me until recently, when he gave a warm and ‘loving’ Endorsement — But really, it was too late. The damage had been done.”
The former president broke with Good because the congressman in May 2023 endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president — a move that motivated McGuire to get into the race despite his public promises that he would not challenge Good and would focus on his campaign in Virginia’s newly created 10th Senate District instead. Good changed his endorsement to Trump after DeSantis ended his presidential bid in January.
But by then, Good — the chair of the hardline House Freedom Caucus who played a key role in last year’s ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy — had already drawn the ire of Trump, who has little tolerance for disloyalty within Republican ranks. “Bob Good won’t be electable when we get done with him,” senior political adviser and co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita told Cardinal News at the time.
But in Thursday’s letter to Trump, the district’s GOP leaders argued that during his time in public office, Good has demonstrated “bold and courageous leadership with his exhaustive offense against the progressive left Democrat agenda.”
Good’s “unimpeachable conservative voting record” in Congress earned him a 100% score from Heritage Action for America, the Family Research Council, Americans for Prosperity, The Conservative Review and Numbers USA, the letter said.
“In 2023, he was elected chairman of the House Freedom Caucus which is holding the line against corrupt politicians on both sides of the aisle. In contrast, the Congressman’s opponent has a history of lying to the voters and only representing his own ambitions rather than the needs of his constituents.”
McGuire, the letter said, is relying on millions of dollars from outside Virginia to support his candidacy. “He does not represent the values of the Republicans of the 5th District and has proven so by refusing to debate Congressman Good on the issues that matter to us.”
Last month, McGuire backed out of what would have been the first and possibly only candidate debate this year, which had been planned at Sweet Briar College. A spokesman for McGuire’s campaign said at the time that the organizers had “released dates without confirming with our campaign, [and] they changed terms and format of the debate after agreements were in place.”
In their letter, the GOP leaders predict that Trump’s endorsement of McGuire could potentially hurt “the strong support of conservatives for President Trump in the Fighting 5th” that he will need in the general election in November.
“We hope President Trump reconsiders his ill-advised endorsement and stands with the Grassroots America First supporters of Congressman Bob Good,” the letter concluded.
David Richards, a political analyst and chair of the political science program at the University of Lynchburg, said that the effort by district Republicans to change Trump’s mind points to a larger issue between the party and its leader as he tries to exert more control over the GOP itself.
“Broadly speaking, Virginia Republicans have always struck me as more traditional, as evidenced by their support of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, even when he did not get a direct Trump endorsement,” Richards said.
“Now we are seeing the Virginia GOP, or at least the 5th District GOP, pushing back against Trump, something that has not always happened across other states in the past couple of years. The 5th is a solidly Republican district, so they do not necessarily need Trump’s endorsement. But so far no one has tested what is going on in the 5th, so this is worth watching.”
Perhaps Trump will change his mind, as he has done before, Richards added.
“But if he does not — will these officials become targets of Trump loyalists? I guess if Good wins the primary this might all become a moot point, but if Good loses, does McGuire help guide some sort of purge? These officials went out on a limb, but it remains to be seen if they will regret doing so.”
Asked for comment, LaCivita, Trump’s co-campaign manager, in a text message to Cardinal News directly addressed Rick Buchanan, the 5th District GOP chair — from Trump’s campaign plane over Arizona, he said.
“Rick,” LaCivita wrote, “thank you for the reminder that Donald Trump has, in fact, endorsed John McGuire and not Bob Good. Also, it is spelled Nottoway, not Nottaway.” The name of the county was misspelled on the list of signees on the letter.
