This is one of three profiles of Virginia’s 5th Congressional District candidates vying for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Bob Good, a former Campbell County supervisor and Liberty University athletics associate, is seeking a second term in Congress.
Despite multiple attempts made over the past month, Good could not be reached for an interview. He previously spoke to Charlottesville Tomorrow during his first Congressional campaign in 2020.
“I am a strong, bright-red conservative,” Good said at the time. “I would say a biblical conservative and constitutional conservative.”
Read about Good’s Republican challenger Dan Moy.
Read about the Democratic Congressional candidate Josh Thorneburg.
He remains staunchly against abortion and recently released a statement in light of a leaked draft opinion that indicates the Supreme Court of the United States could overturn Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50 year old case that has protected abortion access federally.
“My hope and prayer is that the Supreme Court will remain focused on their oath to the Constitution and overturn both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey,” he said, also referring to a related case in the 1990s that upheld the protections of Roe v. Wade.
In 2020, his goals were to bolster conservatism in Congress. Since joining the nation’s legislative branch, he’s served in the House Freedom Caucus — one of the most conservative caucuses in the U.S. Congress — along with the House Budget Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee. A caucus is a cohort of legislators who share similar ideologies.
According to Congress’ website, the majority of bills sponsored by Good focus on health, international affairs and armed forces and national security.
A bill he signed onto with Rep. Chip Roy, R-TX, would require the Department of Health and Human Services to report to Congress with information about “natural immunity to COVID-19.”
The bill was introduced in November 2021, but has not yet advanced any further in Congress, according to the website.
“In particular, the report must compare certain outcomes for individuals who recovered from a COVID-19 infection without having received the vaccination and individuals who received the vaccination,” the bill’s summary reads.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Good remains in opposition to mask and vaccine mandates and has been a regular critic of President Joe Biden.
In December he voted against the National Defense Authorization Act — legislation that is reexamined annually to fund various expenses for the U.S. Military — and released a statement at the time that he deemed the portion of the bill mandating COVID-19 vaccines unconstitutional.
A resounding topic for Good during his time in Congress and during his first campaign has been immigration and he’s focused his attention to the U.S. border with Mexico.
Good has been a strong proponent of stricter immigration laws — supporting increased funding and enforcement at the U.S. border. He wants to end amnesty and sanctuary cities and co-sponsored the No Tax Break for Sanctuary Cities Act. If passed, the bill would deny tax exempt status for bonds issued by local governments that have declared themselves sanctuary jurisdictions.
Local governments often raise large sums of money for projects by selling bonds to investors, which they then repay with interest. Bonds are similar to loans, but are not subject to state or federal taxes.
A sanctuary jurisdiction is when a local government has a statute in place that restricts cooperation with the federal government regarding immigration status of people.
Good also wants to end birthright citizenship for people born while their non-U.S. citizen parents are in the country, regardless of the parents’ immigration status at the time or even if the parents are in the U.S. legally.
Amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine he has been critical of financial aid that other members of Congress have voted for.
“Democrats are ignoring the many crises plaguing our country, including family budget-busting inflation, supply chain shortages for baby formula and other essentials, surging violent crime in our cities, and millions of illegals trafficking across our Southern Border,” he said in a recent statement. “Simply throwing money we don’t have at every problem is not a winning strategy. But, this is always the Biden-Pelosi game plan.”
Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, is a U.S. representative and the speaker of the House.
Often aligning with high profile Republican Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, he joined them in voting against expediting special issue visas to Afghan people who aided the U.S. before withdrawal.
He voted against awarding Congressional Gold Medals to police officers who responded to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Good also voted against certifying 2020 election results declaring Joe Biden’s victory and is a strong supporter of former Republican President Donald Trump.
A recent bill he cosponsored with Boebert is titled the “Securing Americans from Transportation Insanity Act” and would prevent the Transportation Security Agency from removing “biologically determined sex-based screening procedures.” The bill would prevent the Transportation Security Administration from allowing travelers to identify as an “X” gender, instead of “M” or “F,” among other restrictions.
In late April, Politico reported that during a meeting with supporters, Good said that he didn’t support taking in Afghan refugees, in part because he doesn’t trust the country’s vetting process. It would be better, he said, to relocate refugees to a country “where they would fit in better culturally and religiously and ethnically and so forth.”
Before becoming a congressman, Good served on the Campbell County Board of Supervisors. During his time there, he declared the county a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” in 2019 — meaning that it would not comply with state-level gun-related legislation, like handgun purchase restrictions and universal background checks, that the state legislature went on to pass in the 2020 legislative session.
As a supervisor in Campbell County, he also voted against tax raises and pushed back against spending that “wasn’t education, law enforcement and public safety.”
Prior to his involvement in government, he worked for 20 years in finance, eventually serving as a district manager for CitiFinancial.
More than his fiscal conservatorship, Good’s website reiterates his passion as a Christian and someone who will “defend” those values.
“I have kept my promises to the voters of the 5th District during my first term representing them in Congress, and fought as a true constitutional conservative to defend our nation’s founding Judeo-Christian principles,” he wrote on his website. “
I am asking for your vote again so I can continue the battle against unconstitutional government mandates, the invasion at our Southern Border, the leftist indoctrination in our education systems, and the reckless spending that is bankrupting our nation.”
