备受争议和关注的弗吉尼亚州共和党美国众议院初选仍然太接近任何预测，因为众议院自由党团主席鲍勃·古德试图抵御来自州参议员约翰·麦圭尔的挑战，他得到了前总统唐纳德·川普的支持。这场比赛的结果可能标志着特朗普支持的力量。
古德于2020年首次当选众议院议员，他最初支持他的总统初选对手佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯，从而激怒了前总统。特朗普随后攻击古德，试图推翻他曾经支持的候选人。
“如果他再次当选，鲍勃·古德会在背后捅弗吉尼亚一刀，就像他对我做的那样，”特朗普本周早些时候在麦奎尔的一次集会上说。
在选举年，许多人都在关注势均力敌的竞选，以了解特朗普的影响力以及他的支持如何影响竞选。
截至周三上午，尚不清楚特朗普用麦奎尔取代古德的计划是否成功。据报道，麦奎尔也得到了前众议院议长凯文·麦卡锡的支持，他以大约300票的微弱优势领先于古德非官方的选举结果.
善良没有让步。在一个周二晚些时候在X上发帖古德对支持者表示感谢，他说:“整个DC沼泽都在用超过1000万美元的攻击广告来反对我们，但在你们的帮助下，我们能够让这场比赛势均力敌。”
古德说，竞选活动将密切关注计票结果，“以确保未来几天所有的选票都得到正确统计。”
“无论结果如何，你已经向DC沼泽表明，你不会放弃坚持正义。保持信念，不要停止战斗，”古德写道。
但是麦奎尔已经宣布了竞选的胜利，他的语气与好的不同。
“我的一生证明了美国是这个星球上最伟大的国家，我很荣幸有机会再次为她服务...第五选区的人们可以放心，如果他们在11月选举我，他们在国会将有一个有效的斗士来为他们完成工作写在X上的一个帖子里.
“我期待着与特朗普合作，在11月击败乔·拜登&在国会通过特朗普的议程。法宝&麦奎尔会让美国再次伟大!"
本周早些时候，麦奎尔暗示，他认为古德可能会作弊赢得选举，或者选举可能存在问题。
“让我们明天让这个问题变得太大而无法操纵，这样我们就可以锁定武器，让它变得太大而无法操纵，这样我们就可以在11月为特朗普总统赢得弗吉尼亚州，这样我们就可以让他回到那里，让美国再次伟大，”麦奎尔在周一的集会上说。
在周二接受美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)的电话采访中，麦奎尔表示，当被问及“太大而不能操纵”的评论时，质疑总体选举结果是“健康的”。
当被问及对初选的具体担忧时，麦奎尔指出，选民对特朗普支持谁感到困惑。
“有一天，我在一个美食之狮停车场，一位女士说，‘好吧，特朗普支持谁……(你)还是鲍勃·古德?’我说，'他支持我，'”麦奎尔说，并补充说，古德试图“欺骗”选民——指的是古德网站上的信息，这些信息对特朗普的支持造成了一些混乱。
在特朗普正式为麦奎尔背书之前，古德正在他的竞选网站上吹捧特朗普在2022年为他背书。该网站随后进行了更新，以反映特朗普在2024年竞选中没有支持古德的警告。
周二晚上，古德避开了豪华的选举之夜酒店舞厅晚会，与支持者在弗吉尼亚州林奇堡的一家意大利餐厅举行了聚会。在La Villa内部，气氛被抑制了，餐馆的正常活动与守夜人聚会混在了一起。
投票结束半个多小时后，古德走进餐厅，与支持者握手，向每张桌子打招呼。他拥抱并亲吻了他的家人，然后抱起一个家庭成员的婴儿，放在“鲍勃的婴儿”围兜里继续参观。
他花时间坐着，思考，和妻子悄悄商量。他后来没有和记者说话就离开了聚会。
落后的候选人可能会要求重新计票。弗吉尼亚不自动重新计票。根据弗吉尼亚州法律，如果得票率少于所投选票的1%，落选的候选人可以要求重新计票。保证金低于0.5%的由国家买单;如果超过这个数目，请求者就要付钱。
Tight Virginia GOP primary between Good, McGuire a test of Trump's influence
A contentious and closely watchedRepublican U.S. House primary in Virginiaremains too close for any projection, as House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Bob Good attempts to fend off a challenge from state Sen. John McGuire, who received endorsements from former President Donald Trump. The outcome of the race could signal the power of Trump's endorsement.
Good, who was first elected to the House in 2020, had antagonized the former president by initially endorsing his presidential primary opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump then attacked Good -- an effort to take down the candidate he once endorsed, too.
"If he's reelected, Bob Good will stab Virginia in the back, sort of like he did with me," Trump said at a rally for McGuire earlier this week.
In an election year, many are looking at the close race to see the power of Trump's influence and how his endorsement affected the race.
As of Wednesday morning, it's not yet clear if Trump's plan to replace Good with McGuire has panned out. McGuire, who was also endorsed by former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, has a slim lead over Good by a margin of about 300 votes, according tounofficial election results.
Good has not conceded. In apost on X late Tuesday night, Good thanked supporters, saying, "The entire DC Swamp was aligned against us with over $10 million in attack ads, but with your help we were able to make this race too close to call."
Good said the campaign will aim to closely follow the vote count "to ensure all the votes are properly counted in the coming days."
"No matter the outcome, you've shown the DC Swamp that you won't back down from standing for what's right. Keep the faith and don't stop fighting now," Good wrote.
But McGuire has declared victory in the race, striking a different tone than Good.
"My life is a testament to the fact that America is the greatest country on this planet and I'm so honored to have the chance to serve her again... Folks in the 5th can rest assured that should they elect me in Nov., they will have an effective fighter in Congress who will get the job done for them," McGuirewrote in a thread on X.
"I look forward to working with Trump to beat Joe Biden in November& pass Trump's agenda in Congress. Trump& McGuire will Make America Great Again!"
Earlier this week, McGuire implied that he thought Good might cheat to win the election or that there could be issues with the election.
"Let's make this too big to rig tomorrow, so we can lock arms, and make it too big to rig, so we win Virginia for President Trump in November so we can get him back in there and make America great again," McGuire said at his rally on Monday.
In a phone interview with ABC News on Tuesday, McGuire said it would be "healthy" to question election results in general when asked about the "too big to rig" comments.
When pressed to share any specific concerns about the primary, McGuire pointed to confusion among voters about who Trump endorsed.
"I was at a Food Lion parking lot the other day, and a woman said, 'Well, who did Trump endorse…[you] or Bob Good?' And I said, 'He's endorsed me,'" McGuire said, adding that Good is trying to "trick" voters -- a reference to messaging on Good's website that created some confusion about Trump's endorsement.
Before Trump made his official endorsement of McGuire, Good was touting Trump's endorsement of him in 2022 on his campaign website. The website was then updated to reflect the caveat that Trump hadn't endorsed Good in his 2024 race.
On Tuesday night, Good eschewed the trappings of a fancy election night hotel ballroom soiree for a gathering with supporters at an Italian restaurant in a strip-mall filled stretch of Lynchburg, Virginia. Inside La Villa, it was subdued, with the restaurant's normal activity blending with the watch party.
When he entered the restaurant over half an hour after polls closed, Good spent his time glad-handing supporters, greeting each table. He hugged and kissed his family, before picking up a family member's baby in a "Babies for Bob" bib to continue the tour.
He spent time sitting, thinking and quietly conferring with his wife. He later left the party without speaking to reporters.
It is possible that the candidate who ends up trailing could request a recount. Virginiadoes nothave automatic recounts. According toVirginia state law, the losing candidate can request a recount if the vote margin is less than 1% of the votes cast. The state pays if the margin is less than 0.5%; the requester pays if it is more than that.
