ROANOKE, Va. – Voters in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District will fill an open seat after Republican Denver Riggleman was ousted in the primary by former Campbell County Supervisor Bob Good.
Good is taking a hard-core conservative stance on the issues, hoping the right-leaning district will stay red on Election Day.
Virginia’s 5th District is normally a safe seat for Republicans, but this time pundits are expecting a close race between Republican Bob Good, and Democrat Dr. Cameron Webb in the district that’s larger than the state of New Jersey.
If there is a central issue that has arisen in the fight for the seat, it’s support for police.
With both candidates accusing the other of wanting to defund the police in the wake of protests following the death of George Floyd.
“I was frankly the best friend on the Board of Supervisors Campbell County had,” Good said in an interview with 10 News.
Good positions himself as the conservative, law and order candidate.
“I advocated for example - and saved really - keeping school resource officers. We have done eight Back the Blue rallies throughout the district, where we asked the community to come together, show their support for deputies for law enforcement because they go to work every day to keep us safe,” said Good.
He disputes claims by his opponent that he lowered support for law enforcement while a member of the board of supervisors, saying he voted to increase the sheriff’s budget by $685,000 during his four years.
A gun-rights supporter with a concealed-carry permit, Good believes in peaceful protests but is critical of recent race-related marches that turned violent.
He was among those in Richmond in January protesting restrictions on gun rights.
“You had 50,000 people in Richmond, Virginia. A lot of hardware on display. A lot of artillery for lack of a better word. And it was peaceful. That is totally different than what we’re seeing in the cities today with these riots where they’re attacking innocent civilians and destroying property,” said Good.
A relative newcomer to regional politics, Good may be best known for TV ads that began running early in the race showing him wrestling with his son – metaphorically putting the hurt on liberal policies.
“My staff had the idea of doing kind of a lighthearted ad that would kind of stand out from the standard typical political ads,” he said.
Good was a wrestler and later coached the sport. A born-again Christian, he also worked as a fundraiser for athletics at Liberty University. He sees the wrestling spot as part of his no-nonsense image.
“We’ve got a lot of positive feedback from it. And my son was kind to let dad prevail in the video for the purpose of the ad,” said Good.
His platform mirrors that of President Trump’s. He supports the border wall and wants dreamers to apply for citizenship. He is pro-life and believes people should use the restroom of their biological gender.
It comes as no surprise that he considers himself a big supporter of President Trump’s.
“I want to continue the policies and expand upon and build upon the Trump economic policies that gave us an economy in his first three years - that was the envy of the world,” said Good.
He’s counting on a huge turnout for the president with long coattails in the 5th District; otherwise, the Republicans may be counted out in a race they can normally count on to stay red.