In 2017, McGuire ran for the Virginia House of Delegates for the 56th district, then held by retiring Republican incumbent
Peter Farrell. He told the
Richmond Times-Dispatch that his main motivation for running was that he was "interested in growing businesses in Virginia and wants to continue providing support for veterans and law enforcement officers". McGuire won a hotly contested June 2017 Republican primary with 31% of the vote, defeating five other candidates. McGuire won the endorsement of Virginia Right. Blog, which noted he "came back from a horrible accident to walk and live a decent life again", as well as his Navy service and conservative views. McGuire was attacked for allegedly moving into the 56th district for the race, although this was disputed by McGuire and supporters. In the general election, McGuire defeated health care consultant Melissa Dart by a 60% to 40% margin, McGuire spent his first two years with Republicans holding a narrow majority in the House of Delegates. His bill to put veterans' ID on Virginia drivers' licenses won approval and was signed into law. Running for re-election in 2019, McGuire cited "giving teachers a 5% pay raise without raising your taxes while balancing the budget" as the key legislative achievement of his first two years, and "Jobs, the opioid crisis, and education" as the three top issues facing the next general Assembly. In October 2019, while campaigning for re-election, McGuire declined to commit to completing his second term in office, responding to widespread speculation that he was considering a congressional campaign. After winning re-election in November, McGuire announced his candidacy for U.S. Congress for
Virginia's 7th congressional district. McGuire lost a closely contested convention to state Delegate
Nick Freitas, who went on to narrowly lose to
Abigail Spanberger in the 2020 election. McGuire publicly opposed Virginia's ratification of the
Equal Rights Amendment, pointing out that the resolution had missed the deadline for ratification. McGuire attended
Stop the Steal rallies throughout Virginia in 2020. He has claimed the
COVID-19 pandemic was a "plan-demic" designed to change voting laws and rig the
2020 presidential election. McGuire admitted to attending President Donald Trump's
January 6, 2021 rally in Washington, D.C., but has denied participating in the subsequent
attack on the United States Capitol. McGuire was the only Virginia Senator to vote against banning child marriage in 2024. ==U.S. House of Representatives==