Dem
51
GOP
49
Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), chair of the Freedom Caucus, has made a lot of enemies. The ones on the other side of the aisle probably don't matter so much. But the ones on his side of the aisle do, since he chapped their hides enough for them to rally behind a primary challenger. "Bob Good is universally recognized to be an asshole," explained Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI). Van Orden said this during a live TV broadcast, hence our leaving it uncensored.
In Good's primary on June 18, he ended up 374 votes behind state Sen. John McGuire (R). The Representative began squawking about a recount even before the final tallies were in. He also tried to claim that the election wasn't legitimate, and the results were fixed, but that shtick only works for one guy (and even for him, it doesn't work all that well). Ultimately, Good did get his recount, although his campaign had to pay for it.
On one level, it was money well spent, because Good DID pick up some votes on the second counting of the ballots. On the other hand, he gained just four of them, which means he loses by 370 votes instead of 374. The price of the recount was $96,500, so that works out to $24,125 for every extra vote.
Consequently, one of the most obnoxious guys in Washington will be out of work as of January 3, 2025. One wonders what comes next for hin; it's not so easy to become a lobbyist or a media personality when everyone hates you. That said, Newt Gingrich did both, so who knows? (Z)