Denver Riggleman was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia. He was elected from the 5th District of the commonwealth. Among the municipalities in the district are Charlottesville and Lynchburg.
Riggleman was considered to be a moderate member of the Republican party. He's become known as a staunch critic of Trumpism and the incendiary influence it's had on the party. He could be looking to make a political comeback soon. But with one particularly noticeable difference.
Thinking of running as an Independent
Denver Riggleman is considering making a run for governor of Virginia, reports The Daily Progress.
It would not be the first time that Riggleman sought the office. He made an unsuccessful play for the Republican nomination during the 2017 election cycle. The nod instead went to former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie. Gillespie later lost the general election to Democratic Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam.
But instead of running as a Republican, Riggleman would instead be an Independent candidate. The former U.S. representative has left the party since his Congressional exit. Calling the current state of the party "ludicrous" among other criticisms.
The current governor of Virginia is moderate Republican Glenn Youngkin. But Virginia law does not allow for incumbent governors to run for re-election.
As such, Youngkin is ineligible to run in the next election, scheduled for 2025. Whether or not he does launch a campaign for governor, Riggleman did emphatically rule out running for Congress again.
Riggleman was elected to the U.S. House in 2018, defeating the Democratic nominee, journalist Leslie Cockburn. Cockburn is also the mother of actress and filmmaker Olivia Wilde.
Controversial far-right Republican incumbent Tom Garrett was not running for re-election. Riggleman was named a member of the House Financial Services Committee, becoming vice ranking member of the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy.
In 2020, he was a candidate for re-election. But he would lose the Republican nomination to former Campbell County Supervisor Bob Good, who'd win the general election.
Riggleman later briefly served as a staffer for the House Committee tasked with investigating the 2021 Capitol riot. Afterward, notes NBC 29, he wrote a book that touched on the subject.
Is a former United States Air Force officer
Denver Riggleman is a native of Manassas, Virginia, located in the Washington, D.C. region. He graduated from what is now Unity Reed High School in nearby Bull Run. Afterward, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.
Riggleman was later commissioned as an intelligence officer. He'd be assigned to the 336th Fighter Wing and 34th Bomb Squadron and attached to the National Security Agency. After retiring from the Air Force, he helped create an analytics company that was contracted by the NSA.
