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Mr. McGuire officially made it to Washington last week. On Friday, Jan. 3, John McGuire was sworn in and took his seat as a member of the 119th Congress, representing Virginia’s 5th District. 

The retired Navy SEAL said he started off the day in prayer with his family, before getting sworn in. In a letter to supporters afterward, McGuire thanked all of them for helping him get to where he is. He especially thanked residents from the 5th District who made the drive up to D.C. on Friday, to witness the ceremony. 

“We would not be here without you. Thank you for your prayers and your vote,” McGuire wrote. “This experience was 10 times better because so many of you made the drive to be with us in Washington DC on a very special day.” 

McGuire replaces Bob Good, who lost to him in the primary for the House seat. McGuire went on to pick up a strong win in November’s general election, collecting 57% of the ballots or 237,288 votes. His opponent, Democrat Gloria Witt won in Democratic strongholds like the cities of Danville and Charlottesville, as well as Albemarle County, but McGuire won in the rest of the district. That covers more than 20 other counties and the city of Lynchburg. One of the closest counties turned out to be Prince Edward, where just 450 votes separated the two candidates. McGuire picked up 4,613 votes in Prince Edward and the town of Farmville, while Witt finished with 4,163. 

Residents remember John McGuire

Prince Edward was the site of the lone debate in this race, which was held at Hampden-Sydney College. Aside from that, Witt wasn’t seen much in this part of the district, while McGuire made appearances on a pretty regular basis, including a rally with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Senate candidate Hung Cao in Rice.

But in addition to rallies and Get Out the Vote events, McGuire also showed up at government events like the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors’ meetings during this year’s General Assembly session, to discuss bills being filed and help support local resolutions. That was one thing The Herald heard repeatedly, when discussing the race with local residents in all of our counties. McGuire was known in the area, residents said, while they hadn’t seen or heard from Witt except for the debate. 

In December, McGuire officially resigned from his previous position, representing the 10th District in the Virginia State Senate. A special election to fill that seat took place on Tuesday, Jan. 7, between Republican and Prince Edward County resident Luther Cifers and Democrat Jack Trammell, but results were not complete by presstime for this edition. 

As for McGuire, he told supporters in his post-ceremony letter that he’s focused on the work ahead. 

“Our plan for 2025 is to continue the teamwork, efforts to unite Virginians, and do our part to advance President Trump’s America First Agenda,” McGuire said. “We have a country to save!

This year Virginia must elect a republican Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and regain the majority in the House of Delegates.”