Indeed, it’s pretty unusual for a former Republican congressman to campaign for a sitting Democrat, a la Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) supporting Democrats in Arizona over the election-denying Republican candidates for governor and secretary of state. But Riggleman is pretty unusual in that he was part of the vocal minority of Republicans to break ties with the GOP over former president Donald Trump’s stolen-election lies, telling The Washington Post in interviews last year he no longer identified as a Republican. Riggleman had also railed against what he called GOP purity tests he said he didn’t fit into.
“In Congress, the parties sit apart and don’t work together — except Abigail Spanberger,” Riggleman says in the ad, pointing to a bipartisan index ranking Spanberger as the fifth-most bipartisan member of Congress. “She’s trying to change Congress and make it work.”
The ad — more than a half-million dollar buy in the Washington and Charlottesville markets, according to Spanberger’s campaign — appears geared toward the district’s independent or swing voters as Spanberger hits the final leg of the race against Prince William Board of County Supervisors member Yesli Vega (R). The race is by far the most expensive campaign in Virginia, so far totaling over $18 million. The district, anchored in populous eastern Prince William, is one President Biden and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) each won, making it one of the most contested races in Virginia this year. The ad will run for most of October, the campaign said.
In an interview, Riggleman said he decided to cut the ad for Spanberger because he could not support “facts-challenged individuals” running for office.
He pointed to comments Vega made during the Republican primary this spring casting doubt on the 2020 election, and her acceptance of an endorsement from Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, a GOP activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas who remains under scrutiny by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol for her efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Riggleman, who has a background in tracking disinformation, worked as an adviser to the Jan. 6 committee — though he recently rankled committee members after publishing a book about his work before the committee’s investigation ended and that the committee did not authorize.
“If you’re afraid to come out and say President Biden was elected legally and fairly, there’s no way I can support that kind of ridiculousness,” he said.
Riggleman was referring to comments Vega made at an April 20 candidate forum in which she said “there’s evidence that continues to come out that indicates that the election of 2020 was interfered with,” according to a recording obtained by VPM. She said she would not say the election was “stolen,” adding she did not want to speculate and needed more evidence. Still, Riggleman argued that saying the election was “interfered with” is “coded language for everybody on the stop-the-steal bus.”
A spokesman for Vega did not respond to a request for comment for this article. But during a recent interview with The Post, when asked if she acknowledged President Biden was legitimately elected, Vega said, “He is the president of the United States.” She would not give a yes or no answer when pressed, taking issue with the question as something she said she…
Read More: Ex-Republican congressman Denver Riggleman cuts ad supporting Rep. Abigail Spanberger
