Congressman Bob Good, in a tough battle for the Republican nomination in the Fifth House District, seems to think having Matt Gaetz campaign for him will somehow be a help.
Gaetz, still under a cloud from allegations that he was involved in the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old, will appear at a rally at First Free Coffee Bar in Charlottesville from 6-8 p.m.
The House Ethics Committee has reopened its investigation into the sex-trafficking allegation against Gaetz, who is in his fourth term representing Florida in the U.S. House.
The U.S. Department of Justice decided in 2023 not to pursue criminal charges against Gaetz, because of issues with the credibility of two witnesses central to the case.
The Ethics Committee has reportedly reached out to the alleged victim in the case in its new investigation, which could be a game-changer.
Thing here is, having a guy with a past steeped in alleged sex crimes campaigning for you is likely to get you over with the MAGA base of the Republican Party, given that faction’s deep reverence for disgraced ex-president Donald Trump, who is currently facing 88 criminal charges, 34 in the trial ongoing right now in a New York court involving hush-money payments to a porn actress with whom he had a one-night stand.
Good can use whatever help he can get. He has been basically excommunicated from TrumpWorld because he made the mistake of endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president last year, an unpardonable sin that netted him a primary challenger, State Sen. John McGuire, who is running in the primary on the basis of the claim that he’s the Trumpier of the two.
We’re six weeks out from the June 18 primary, and McGuire is holding his own in the money race. According to information from the Virginia Public Access Project, he had raised just under half a million dollars for his campaign as of the most recent required finance report on March 31.
Good had raised more than $850,000 for his re-election as of that March 31 reporting deadline.
I’m imagining that they’ve both hauled in significantly more since March 31, given the frequency of the TV ads on the local channels and on local cable.
I’m also imagining that photos and B-roll from this Good-Gaetz event at the coffee shop in Charlottesville will show up in an ad or two from the McGuire side in the coming weeks.
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Chris Graham
