Robert George Good (born September 11, 1965) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative in Virginia's 5th congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Early life and education
Good was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and lived in North Jersey before moving to Lynchburg, Virginia, with his family at age nine. He attended Liberty Christian Academy, where he was a member of the wrestling team. Good was awarded a partial wrestling scholarship to Liberty University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in finance and a Master of Business Administration.
Career
For 17 years, Good worked for Citi Financial. When he announced his campaign for Congress in 2019, he was serving as an associate athletic director for development at Liberty University.
Good was a member of the Campbell County Board of Supervisors from 2016 to 2019. During his three years as a county supervisor, he supported socially conservative causes, voting to condemn the U.S. Supreme Court decision recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage; to declare the county a "Second Amendment sanctuary"; and to call upon the Virginia General Assembly to restrict transgender bathroom use.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2020
Good ran against incumbent Denver Riggleman in the Republican nominating convention for in the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Riggleman with 58% of the vote from party delegates during a drive-through nominating convention instead of a primary election. During the campaign, Good criticized Riggleman for officiating at the same-sex wedding of two former campaign volunteers.
Good campaigned on a far-right platform, espousing hard-line views on immigration policy and opposition to same-sex marriage and aligning himself with President Donald Trump. He called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and rejected public health measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. He did not wear a face covering or encourage the wearing of face coverings at campaign events, and opposed restrictions on businesses to slow the spread of the virus. Good suggested that the wearing of face coverings might be harmful. In the November 3 general election, Good defeated Democratic nominee Cameron Webb, a physician, 52.6% (210,988) to 47.4% (190,315).
Tenure
After his election, Good appeared amid the pandemic at a rally in Washington, D.C., in which Trump supporters protested the Supreme Court's rejection of a lawsuit attempting to subvert the results of the election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden. During the rally, Good promoted the theory that Democrats had perpetrated a vast conspiracy to steal the election. He said that while the virus was real, the pandemic was "phony". Good told a maskless crowd that "this is a phony pandemic" and, the next day, suggested that precautions to prevent the spread of the disease were a "hoax".
On January 6, 2021, Good voted against certifying the election of President-elect Biden. On January 17, he voted against a House bill awarding Congressional Gold Medals to the U.S. Capitol Police and the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department for their roles in protecting the Capitol and members of Congress during the storming of the United States Capitol. He and 20 other House Republicans voted against a similar resolution in June 2021.
On June 17, 2021, Good was one of 49 House Republicans to vote to repeal the AUMF against Iraq.
On June 26, 2021, Good appeared at Bedford County, Virginia's, second annual militia muster, saying he was happy to be at the event with "proud patriots and constitutional conservatives who are doing their part to help strengthen our nation and to fight for the things that we believe in".
In July 2021, Good voted against the bipartisan ALLIES Act, which would have increased the number of special immigrant visas for Afghan allies of the U.S. military by 8,000 during its invasion of Afghanistan while also reducing some application requirements that caused long application backlogs. The bill passed the House 407–16.
In September 2021, Good was among 75 House Republicans to vote against the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022, which contains a provision that would require women to register for selective service.
On October 26, 2021, while the House discussed anti-domestic violence legislation, Good said: "Nearly everything that plagues our society can be attributed to a failure to follow God's laws for morality and his rules for and definition of marriage and family."