As of this writing, it appears that Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, will lose his primary to state Sen. John McGuire, who had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

With very few outstanding votes, McGuire leads Good by a razor-thin margin of less than 350 votes out of more than 62,000 cast. While it is still possible for Good to prevail, the odds are not in his favor at this point. And while McGuire is well poised to become the next representative of Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, the real winner in this saga is former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Good was one of eight Republican members of the House of Representatives who voted to oust McCarthy from the speakership in October of last year. From that moment, the disgruntled former speaker has been on a warpath to oust the eight members who participated in his removal, and with Good likely headed toward a loss, he seems to have collected his first scalp.

But this chaotic charade was not necessary. In fact, it was a massive waste of money aimed at replacing one of the most conservative members of Congress for nothing more than a personal slight.

In the run-up to Election Day, McCarthy and his allies spent nearly $10 million to defeat Good, while the incumbent representative and his allies countered with more than $5 million of their own spending. And in the end, the election was so close that the outcome is still in question.

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None of that money needed to be spent on a race that is a slam dunk for Republicans come November. Instead, those resources could have been devoted to the presidential election in Virginia where Trump is running in a dead heat against President Joe Biden, or to the upcoming Senate race where Republican nominee Hung Cao will attempt to unseat incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA).

What kind of representative McGuire turns out to be remains an open question that will only be answered once the primary result is finalized and he wins the November election. But it is clear he will be replacing one of the most conservative members of the House Republican Conference, and McCarthy spent a whole lot of money to ensure that he did.