Denver Riggleman

Denver Lee Riggleman III (born March 17, 1970) is an American businessman and politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia who serves as the United States Representative for Virginia's 5th congressional district. A former Air Force officer and National Security Agency contractor, Riggleman opened a craft distillery in Virginia in 2014. As a Republican, he ran for his party's nomination in the 2017 gubernatorial election, but withdrew from the race. Riggleman was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2018. Riggleman was defeated in his bid for reelection in 2020, losing to Republican primary challenger Bob Good in a drive-thru party convention.

Denver Riggleman
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 5th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byTom Garrett
Personal details
Born
Denver Lee Riggleman III

(1970-03-17) March 17, 1970
Manassas, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Christine Blair Riggleman
(
m. 1989)
Children3
EducationRowan College, Burlington (AA)
Air University (AAS)
University of Virginia (BA)
Villanova University (GradCert)
Website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Air Force
Years of service1992–2007
Unit

Early life and education

Riggleman was born and raised in Manassas, Virginia.[1][2] He graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School in 1988.[2] Riggleman earned an Associate of Arts from Rowan College at Burlington County, formerly Burlington County College, in 1996.[3] He received an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in avionics systems from the Community College of the Air Force at Air University in 1996.[3] In 1998, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.[3] Riggleman received a Graduate Certificate (GradCert) in project management from Villanova University in 2007.[3]

Career

Riggleman served in the Air Force for 15 years.[4] After initially serving as an enlisted avionics technician, he received a commission and went on to serve as an intelligence officer.[2]

Riggleman founded NSA contractor Analytics Warehouse, LLC, in 2007, and was its CEO until 2015.

In 2014, Riggleman and his wife opened Silverback Distillery, a 50-acre craft distillery in Afton, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley outside Charlottesville.[2][5] He has pushed for deregulation of distilleries in the state and changes to the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority; together with other distillers, the Rigglemans established a "loosely formed distillers guild" and hired a lobbyist.[5] Riggleman has "criticized the state's alcohol and tax laws as unfairly harsh toward spirits producers and spoke[n] of a new 'whiskey rebellion.'"[6]

Political career

Gubernatorial election

In December 2016, Riggleman filed papers to seek the Republican nomination for governor of Virginia in the 2017 gubernatorial election. His opponents in the Republican primary were former President George W. Bush counselor and Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie, Prince William County Board of Supervisors chairman Corey Stewart, and state Senator Frank Wagner of Virginia Beach.[2]

Sitting Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam and former Representative Tom Perriello sought the Democratic nomination.[7]

Riggleman suspended his campaign on March 16, 2017.[1]

Riggleman has said he may run for Governor in 2021 as an independent or third-party candidate, citing his belief that the Republican Party of Virginia is broken.[8]

United States House of Representatives

2018 election
Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia § District 5
Riggleman speaking with attendees at the 2018 Young Americans for Liberty National Convention

In the 2018 elections, Riggleman was the Republican nominee for the United States House of Representatives election for Virginia's 5th congressional district. He defeated Cynthia Dunbar, who had lost the Republican nomination in the 6th district just weeks before, in the final round of voting to win the nomination.[9] The Republican incumbent, Tom Garrett, did not run for reelection.[10]

In the November 2018 general election, Riggleman defeated Democratic nominee Leslie Cockburn with 53% of the vote to Cockburn's 47%.[11]

During the campaign, Cockburn accused Riggleman of being a "devotee of Bigfoot erotica", based on an image he shared from his Instagram to promote a book titled The Mating Habits of Bigfoot and Why Women Want Him. In an interview with CRTV Riggleman said the image was an obvious joke, but that he had an interest in Bigfoot, and co-authored the actual self-published book Bigfoot Exterminators, Inc.: The Partially Cautionary, Mostly True Tale of Monster Hunt 2006, with ESPN writer Don Barone.[12] In a phone interview with The Washington Post, he clarified that it was an "anthropological book sort of based on parody and satire" and said, "I thought it was funny. There is no way that anybody's dumb enough to think this is real."[13]

2020 election
Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia § District 5

The Rappahannock County Republican Party criticized Riggleman after he officiated a same-sex wedding between two of his friends, and in September he was censured by party officials who claimed that he had "abandoned party principles" over fiscal and immigration policy.[14]

On September 26, 2019, Campbell County's Board of Supervisor Bob Good—who also worked as an athletics official at Liberty University—announced his intention to challenge Riggleman in the 2020 Republican primary. In his announcement, Good accused Riggleman of "betraying" the trust of conservative voters in the 5th district along with casting votes that were not in his constituency's best interest. Riggleman secured key endorsements on the right, including from Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr.[15]

The local party leaders of the 5th Congressional District Republican Committee chose to determine the 2020 nominee for the fifth district by a convention instead of a primary election.[16] On June 13, 2020, Good defeated Riggleman at the nominating convention[17] with 58% of the vote to Riggleman's 42%.[18]

Tenure

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Electoral history
Virginia's 5th congressional district, 2018[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Denver Riggleman 165,339 53.18
Democratic Leslie Cockburn 145,040 46.65
n/a Write-ins 547 0.18
Total votes 310,926 100.0
Republican hold

Personal life

Riggleman has been married to Christine Blair Riggleman since 1989. They reside in Nellysford[2] and have three daughters.[2] In July 2019, Riggleman was the officiant at a same-sex marriage for two of his friends and campaign volunteers.[20]

References
  1. Vozzella, Laura (March 16, 2017). "Populist candidate Denver Riggleman drops out of GOP race for Virginia governor". The Washington Post.
  2. Portnoy, Jenna (December 28, 2016). "A fourth Republican enters the race for Virginia governor". The Washington Post.
  3. "Denver Riggleman III's Biography". Vote Smart.
  4. "Biography". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  5. Portnoy, Jenna (February 14, 2016). "Va.'s growing craft distillery industry pushes against regulatory roadblocks". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  6. Moomaw, Graham (December 10, 2016). "As Trump era dawns, 2017 Virginia GOP hopefuls court supporters at gathering in Richmond". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  7. Schneider, Gregory S. (February 2, 2017). "In Va. race for governor, Northam faces Trump voters, aggressive opponent and his own genteel nature". The Washington Post.
  8. Woodhouse, Skylar; Cirilli, Kevin (July 29, 2020). "Virginia's Riggleman Says He's Considering Bid for Governor". Bloomberg News. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  9. Wrabel, Allison (June 2, 2018). "Riggleman selected as GOP nominee in 5th District". The Daily Progress. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  10. "Virginia Department of Elections, Certified Candidates in Ballot Order for November 6, 2018" (PDF). elections.virginia.gov. Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  11. "Virginia Election Results: Fifth House District". The New York Times. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  12. Stack, Liam (July 30, 2018). "'Bigfoot Erotica' Becomes an Issue in Virginia Congressional Campaign". The New York Times.
  13. Charles, Ron (July 30, 2018). "What is Bigfoot erotica? A Virginia congressional candidate accused her opponent of being into it". The Washington Post.
  14. Burke, Julie (September 16, 2019). "Virginia county GOP censures Rep. Riggleman, sparking sharp response". The Hill. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  15. Friedenberger, Amy (September 26, 2019). "Liberty University official to challenge Rep. Denver Riggleman for GOP nomination". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  16. Friedenberger, Amy (November 9, 2019). "Republicans choose convention, setting up nomination contest for Rep. Denver Riggleman". The Roanoke Times.
  17. Friedenberger, Amy (June 14, 2020). "UPDATE: Challenger Bob Good ousts Rep. Denver Riggleman at 5th District GOP nominating convention". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved June 14, 2020 – via Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  18. "GOP congressman who officiated gay wedding loses primary". ABC News. Associated Press. June 14, 2020.
  19. "Official Results". 2018 November General. Virginia Department of Elections. November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  20. Vozzella, Laura (July 15, 2019). "Conservative GOP congressman presides at same-sex wedding in Virginia". The Washington Post.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Tom Garrett		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 5th congressional district
2019–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Guy Reschenthaler		 United States Representatives by seniority
398th		 Succeeded by
John Rose
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