The knives are out as old alliances are broken and unlikely new ones are forged amid a particularly bitter primary fight in Virginia involving Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), the chair of the House Freedom Caucus who helped oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) last year, according to the Daily Mail.

Good's opponent, Virginia State Sen. John McGuire, has received support from several prominent establishment Republicans in Washington D.C. as well as from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who was previously kicked out of the Freedom Caucus over her close relationship with McCarthy and has now accused Good of being a "backstabber."

The rural Virginia congressman, meanwhile, enjoys the support of his fellow Freedom Caucus members as well as from some moderate establishment Republicans who, while not necessarily fans of Good and the caucus, are concerned that McGuire will prove even more disruptive to D.C.'s normal order than the incumbent he seeks to replace.

Odd alliances forming in Virginia primary battle

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Rep. Greene said that Rep. Good was the "biggest backstabber" among congressional Republicans and highlighted the fact that Good had accepted a $2 million donation in 2022 from a McCarthy-aligned super Pac but then later supported the effort to oust the former speaker from power.

"That is an incredible amount of money, and then turn around, stabs him in the back and votes to vacate him as speaker. This is a pattern of behavior," Greene said. "I think people in Bob Good's district need to understand what a liar and backstabber Bob Good is."

For his part, Good told the Daily Mail, "My constituents know and trust me. They know I represent them and their interests, not the DC Swamp's interests."

"The people of VA-5 want a fighter with a backbone, not empty promises from just another politician who is constantly seeking another office," he added of his opponent. "I'm honored to have the support of countless local leaders whom I'm proud to serve and work with to restore our nation to its founding vision and to improve the lives of our constituents."

Good's campaign manager, Diana Shores, took things a step further and accused McCarthy of orchestrating "revenge" through his DC "swamp" allies against those who ousted him, and told the outlet, "Our opponent is simply a willing puppet for the Washington Establishment to use for their revenge campaign against Congressman Good, who is fighting for and standing up for his constituents every single day."

Good's prior comments against Trump, primary support for DeSantis, being used against him

CNN reported that this primary fight in Virginia that is exposing fault lines within the House GOP is occurring despite Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) recent admonition for members to stop the internal fighting with each other and to refrain from getting involved in primary challenges against incumbents.

One of those fault lines appears to run directly beneath former President Donald Trump's camp as both Rep. Good and his challenger McGuire attempt to out-MAGA each other and credibly claim the support of key allies of the former president, both inside and outside the D.C. beltway.

Unfortunately for Good, his prior comments against then-candidate Trump in 2016, as well as his initial support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the current cycle, have come back to haunt him, and while Trump himself has yet to publicly address the developing situation, top campaign adviser Chris LaCivita told a local Virginia news outlet earlier this year, "Bob Good won’t be electable when we get done with him."

Group of moderate GOPers align with Good over distrust of his Trump-aligned opponent

Interestingly enough, Punchbowl News reported that this primary fight between Rep. Good and McGuire has revealed some unusual, and likely temporary, alliances that involve members of the Republican establishment who presumably find both candidates in the Virginia race to be distasteful.

Good is reportedly drawing some support from the moderate Main Street Caucus, which typically clashes with the more conservative Freedom Caucus, in large part because they don't trust McGuire as a "governing conservative" type, given his outspoken support for Trump and presence at the Jan. 6 Capitol rally turned riot in 2021 -- which in and of itself makes the support of McGuire from other establishment Republicans all the more baffling.