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Five candidates seek 5th Congressional District seat

Two of the three candidates running for the Democratic party’s nomination in the 5th are former soldiers. Paul Riley, who now resides in Crozet, says he’s lived in 19 different houses while serving as a military analyst. Gary Terry is a West Point grad who now lives in Danville.

“After four years at West Point and five years in the army, I know an enemy when I see one," he joked. "As late as January 6th, when we had folks trying to stop a legal vote – those are enemies.”

At a candidate forum in Charlottesville, Riley also attacked Republicans in Congress but said he could collaborate with some.

“Now is it easy? Nope. Not with the other side, because they are certifiably nuts,” he said.

Gloria Witt, a lifetime resident of Amherst County, also spoke of the need to negotiate and compromise – a lesson she learned over 32 years working in corporate America.

“Congress needs someone at this moment who can build bridges and knock down walls," she said.

Witt credits her professional success at Framatone, a global player in the field of nuclear energy, with job skills she learned in high school.

“I could take shorthand, and I could type. When I left high school it wasn’t just a piece of paper. I had a technical skill that opened the door for me," she recalled. "Our children deserve that.”

And Riley thought the federal government should pay for teacher training if graduates agreed to five years working in public schools.

“We pay for you to get your degree, and we kind of populate our teacher population back where it needs to be.”

On the subject of immigration, Terry blamed Republicans for troubles on this country’s southern border.

“There was a bill that came up some weeks ago that would have funded more judges and more border patrol agents, but it was tabled, because the X-President told his minions he wants to use that as election fodder for 2024.”

And Witt insisted our immigration problems could be solved.

“If we can get 1.2 million people through TSA on a holiday weekend, I think we can handle the border.”

She called for registration of guns sold in this country and attacked Israel for its war against Hamas.

“I do believe that Israel had a right to respond to the October 7th activity, but they are in overreach at this moment. It’s genocide. Let’s just call a thing a thing.”

Witt and Riley called for tax reform.

“In my opinion, I pay way more than my fair share of taxes while we have billionaires and millionaires getting by.”

But first they would need to get elected. Terry – who has worked for two Fortune 500 companies and managed two large non-profits – belongs to the Masons, Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions Clubs. He thinks he could appeal to moderate Republicans. Witt, who’s also active in community groups, vowed to harness the power of the Internet.

“If you check your social media feeds right now, you will see more social media conversations about the shoes I bought, what I’m eating for dinner, my grandchildren’s grades. Really? We need to use our tools to uphold democracy.”

University of Mary Washington Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth
University of Mary Washington
University of Mary Washington Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth

Regardless of who wins the Democratic primary, experts like Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, say they’re unlikely to win in November.

“The district wasn’t all that Democratic friendly with the old lines, but the lines after the 2020 census have made a bad situation for Democrats even worse.”

Kyle Kondik at UVA’s Center for Politics won’t rule out a win for Democrats.

Kyle Kondik is a political analyst at UVA's Center for Politics.
UVA
Kyle Kondik is a political analyst at UVA's Center for Politics.

“I could imagine Virginia 5 being competitive in a general election under kind of ideal circumstances for Democrats.”

But, he says, circumstances are not ideal for Democrats in 2024. Republicans, on the other hand, enjoy an advantage in the fifth congressional district, but incumbent Bob Good may not be the nominee.

Good v. McGuire

He calls himself a Biblical conservative and during this — his second term — heads the Freedom Caucus in Congress. Farnsworth says he should have been a shoo-in for re-election.

“In all honesty, there shouldn’t have been much competition. Incumbent Republicans in a Republican-friendly district with a consistent Republican voting record should be able to win in a walk.”

But Good is no ordinary Republican. When Donald Trump was running in his own state primaries, Good endorsed one of his opponents – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Now Trump has endorsed Good’s primary opponent, John McGuire.

Good also helped unseat former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and his allies are also backing McGuire according to UVA's Kyle Kondik.

“McGuire has gotten a lot of outside support from Republican conservative groups aligned with what were speaker Kevin McCarthy and others," he explains. "Good, I think, is in significant danger. He’s certainly one of the most endangered house incumbents in a primary of anyone across the country.”

But Good is not giving up. He’s launched a series of aggressive TV ads, attacking McGuire for his record as a state senator.

“John McGuire says he will protect your rights," says a narrator in one ad. "He has if you’re a sexual predator or a transgender athlete. John McGuire sided with leftists to co-sponsor a constitutional amendment to protect boys in girls’ sports and to enshrine the right of men to use girls’ bathrooms.”

McGuire says he does not favor allowing genetic males to compete with genetic females, and he denies voting for any bills that would give men access to women’s restrooms. His ads play up his military background and Good’s decision to endorse Desantis.

“John McGuire – Navy Seal sniper and American First Patriot," says the TV spot. "McGuire hunted down terrorists abroad, then built a seal-training company from scratch. Now he’s running, because Trump doesn’t need a back-stabber in Congress.”

Good says he endorsed DeSantis, because he worried Donald Trump’s legal problems might cost him the election, but he now backs Trump and blames crooked courts in New York and Atlanta for what he considers political attacks on the former president.

Both men strongly oppose abortion. McGuire says he’s a Christian who believes life is a miracle and it must be protected at all costs. In cases of rape and incest, he notes, adoption is an option.

Good calls abortion the number one killer in the United States and says it has deprived the nation of millions of doctors, first responders, teachers and scientists – weakening the nation’s economy.

Both blame President Biden for troubles on our southern border, and neither would support additional limits on gun owners. No surprise says political scientist Stephen Farnsworth.

“When you think about primaries, you really don’t have people with strong ideological differences running against each other. That happens when you have a Democrat versus a Republican in November.”

So is it possible that the brutal and expensive primary between Good and McGuire might weaken the GOP’s choice and lead to a victory for Democrats in November? Farnsworth and UVA’s political analyst Kyle Kondik agree – the Fifth Congressional District is a Republican stronghold, and most voters are likely to coalesce around the winner of the Republican primary.

Sandy Hausman is Radio IQ's Charlottesville Bureau Chief