Bob Good says he’ll try to block certification of primary results in key city

Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said Monday he will try to block the certification of election results in the biggest city in his district as he continues to trail his Trump-backed primary challenger by a few hundred votes in the closely watched Virginia contest.

In Monday’s episode of Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Good doubled down on his claims of election irregularities and raised doubts about the security of the election drop boxes in the key city of Lynchburg.

“The bottom line is we can’t certify this election. There’s great concern of inappropriate activity relative to the biggest city in the district, Lynchburg City,” Good told Bannon. “They did not secure their drop boxes. There’s no accountability for when those boxes were open. They were apparently left to be stuffed for two or three days after the election. There’s no accountability for who opened those, how many ballots came out.”

A spokesperson for Good’s campaign said they are pursuing the recount because “our donors, our volunteers and our supporters expect it.”

“This isn’t about Bob Good. This is about the people of the district. Already thousands of dollars in donations have come in for our recount efforts,” Diana Shores, a senior campaign manager, told The Hill in an emailed statement. “We will pursue the recount to settle any questions about the fairness or transparency of the election process. This way, voters can confidently move forward to the general election.”

Shores noted that the election results will not be certified until July 2, giving the campaign just 10 days to submit a recount request. She added that they expect the recount at the end of July.

The questions Good raised about the vulnerability in the elections echo the concerns of the “Stop the Steal” movement, which aimed to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in former President Trump’s favor.

Good, the chair of the House Freedom Caucus, and Bannon both noted the broader implications of their election security concerns, invoking the November elections, which will see Trump and President Biden battle once again for the presidency.

Good, in recent days, has raised concerns about malfeasance in the election, pointing to fire alarms blaring in three voting locations as evidence of suspicious activity. Elections officials have noted no voters were turned away at the locations that dealt with the alarms on election day.

“So we’re going to do everything, Steve, to try to block certification of this election, to have a full investigation of the evidence of potential malfeasance here and make sure this election actually reflects the intent of the voters who legitimately and legally participating,” Good said.

“And we’re going to be making a legal challenge in the next couple of days to demonstrate that Lynchburg the biggest city can’t be certified,” he added.

Good faces Trump-backed candidate John McGuire III, a former Navy SEAL and state senator, in the primary race, which took place last Tuesday. The race has yet to be called, but according to Decision Desk HQ’s latest vote tally on Monday afternoon, Good trailed McGuire by fewer than 400 votes.

Updated June 25 at 6:49 a.m.