Ordinarily, when Republican members of Congress worry about losing in a primary, it’s because they’re perceived as not radical enough: Those who stray too far from party orthodoxy and disappoint the GOP’s far-right base have come to realize that there are intraparty rivals waiting in the wings.
With this in mind, Rep. Bob Good should have had nothing to worry about: The Virginia Republican, representing a ruby-red district, is the chair of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus and has one of the most far-right voting records of anyone on Capitol Hill. It’s implausible to think a primary challenger could run to the congressman’s right.
And yet, Good’s political career is now very much in doubt. NBC News reported:
Former President Donald Trump endorsed the primary challenger taking on House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., saying the congressman “turned his back on our incredible movement.” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday morning that he is endorsing state Sen. John McGuire, who is challenging Good in a June 18 primary.
The problem has very little to do with the incumbent’s legislative record. As regular readers know, the GOP lawmaker dismissed the pandemic as a “phony“ crisis, championed a baseless impeachment crusade against President Joe Biden, and helped take the lead in pushing a debt ceiling crisis. The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank went so far to refer to Good as a “legislative terrorist.”
So why is he facing a primary challenge he appears increasingly likely to lose?
For one thing, Good played a prominent role in ousting then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which generated some ill will within the party. For another, Good’s colleagues have come to see him as something of a joke: Even one of his Freedom Caucus colleagues recently conceded that Good is not a constructive policymaker.
But most importantly, the Virginia Republican endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump in the GOP’s presidential primary — at which point some of his ostensible allies labeled him a “disloyal MAGA traitor.”
It didn’t take long for Good to acknowledge his political difficulties, and in January, he endorsed Trump. More recently, the Virginian was one of the many congressional Republicans to travel to the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse to show his support for the former president during his criminal trial.
But Trump said online yesterday that the gestures were “too late,” adding, “The damage had been done!”
In late March, The Washington Post quoted John Fredericks, a conservative Virginia radio show host who’s been part of Trumpworld for years, who said Good’s fate was in Trump’s hands.
“If Trump endorses McGuire, McGuire is going to win,” Fredericks said. Two months later, Trump endorsed McGuire. For the American mainstream, whether Virginia’s 5th congressional district is represented by one right-wing Republican or a different right-wing Republican might not seem especially notable, but the effort against Good is emblematic of a larger trend: Team Trump is building enemies lists, and it’s retaliating against those deemed insufficiently loyal. Primary Day in the commonwealth is June 18. Watch this space. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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