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House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good speaks to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol on April 19, 2024.
CNN
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Republican primary race between Virginia Rep. Bob Goode, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus An angry person Allies of former President Donald Trump and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the state Senate. John McGuire was too early to call Tuesday night.
The congressman from Virginia’s 5th congressional district faced a tough bid to oust him from a broad swath of the GOP in what turned out to be the costliest House Republican primary of the cycle. As one of the chief architects of the move to oust McCarthy last fall, Goode drew the ire of the former speaker’s allies, who sought millions in revenge. Goode also lost Trump’s support after endorsing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Late Tuesday, less than a point separated McGuire and Good, small enough to call for a recount for the second-place finisher. Postal ballots can continue to arrive until Friday.
Good acknowledged the state of the race Tuesday night.
“Right now, we’re still waiting for the final election results from today’s primary,” he wrote in X. “While we wait, I want to thank you for your support so far. You have kept your promise.
Eugene Windman is a retired Army colonel and key figure for Trump First chargeVirginia’s 7th Congressional District will win the Democratic primary, CNN projects.
Windman, favored by Democrat Rep. Abigail Spanberger, is expected to be a competitive race this fall with the House GOP’s narrow majority.
Windman and his twin brother, retired Army Lt. Col., after both raised concerns about a 2019 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Alexander Windman, best known for their role in the sacking. In that call, Trump reportedly asked for an investigation into then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
Alexander Vintman was a star witness during the 2020 impeachment trial, and the twins — who both served on the National Security Council — became heroes to pro-democracy activists opposing the former president.
Windman’s role in Trump’s impeachment may have made a difference in his campaign. While most of his primary opponents are current and former elected officials, the first-term candidate has raised $5 million through May 29, federal records show. That run was more than four times the combined total of the six other Democrats in the race.
Spanberger, a retiring congresswoman, is vacating her seat to run for governor next year. A former CIA officer, he won a third term in 2022 by 5 points.
Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, the veteran Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, fends off a tough primary challenge in the state’s 4th Congressional District, CNN projects.
Cole is expected to win a four-way primary that includes Paul Ponder, an insurance broker who has loaned his campaign more than $5 million through May 29 and covered the airwaves with ads.
Cole, a longtime GOP operative, had the endorsement of former President Trump. But Pandar has positioned himself as a more conservative alternative to the veteran congressman. He also sought to ease ties between Trump and Kohli, airing ads highlighting Kohl’s donations to Trump’s 2024 GOP primary rivals before they ran for president.
Cole, who was first elected to Congress in 2002, easily defeated primary contenders in previous elections. He maintains close ties to conservatives in the House — and voted against certifying some 2020 election results and impeaching Trump twice.
“He’s always voted with me, including two impeachments,” Trump said in his early May endorsement of Cole.
The most unusual aspect of Tuesday’s race was Bonder’s new ties to Oklahoma. After spending most of his career in Illinois, he moved to Texas in 2020, living outside of Dallas — where he voted in this March’s Republican primary. Then, in April, he began his congressional campaign in Oklahoma. State voting records show Ponder’s primary race is the first time he has voted in Oklahoma. Cole’s associates aired ads questioning Bonder’s residency.
The Pro-Col Americans 4 Security Super PAC aired a 30-second spot that drew comparisons to the premier Red River rivalry — a famously bitter one featuring the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas. It highlighted Cole’s longtime Sooner State ties, where he graduated from the University of Oklahoma, and described his opponent as “Texan Paul Ponder, trying to buy an Oklahoma congressional seat straight from Dallas.”
“Don’t let a Longhorn try to take our Sooner seat,” the ad said, referring to the two schools’ mascots.
Bonder’s campaign responded with an ad saying the challenger owned a home in Oklahoma and had purchased a 500-acre property in Caddo to “build his dream home.” Cheyenne Stanley, the previous owner, said in the ad that she sold both properties “about two years ago.”
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
