Republican Denver Riggleman, a candidate for the Fifth Congressional District, spoke to about 20 supporters at the Wood Ridge Farms brewery in Nelson County Sunday evening in an effort to mobilize voters before Tuesday’s midterm elections. Riggleman drew extensively on his experience as a small business owner and rejection of political elitism as key components of his campaign.
Riggleman is competing with Democrat Leslie Cockburn for the Fifth District seat in Virginia. The district — which includes localities from Fauquier County to the North Carolina border, including Charlottesville — will elect either Cockburn or Riggleman Tuesday after Republican Tom Garrett announced in May that he would not seek reelection.
Riggleman spoke on the importance of Nelson County and its culture on shaping his policies. After several years as an intelligence officer and a defense contractor, Riggleman and his wife founded Silverback Distillery in Nelson in 2014. Riggleman said he has roots in nearby Albemarle and Fluvanna Counties, adding that he often hunted with his father in Nelson County as a teenager.
“I think what people want to see is they want someone they can talk to about local issues, the problems they have, the regulations,” Riggleman said to his supporters. “Where they talk about labor, where they talk about immigration, right? Where they talk about healthcare. They want somebody who can talk to them about exercising those rights, somebody who’s had to get healthcare ... and somebody who understands the cost of living everyday.”
He also emphasized the importance of direct speech to voters, which he said will distinguish him from other representatives if elected.
“[Voters] understand too that I’m going to talk right at them — and that there is a Virginian way,” Riggleman said. “And even if I don’t agree with them, and I’m politely confrontational, it doesn’t mean I still don’t love them. It still doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”
Albemarle County resident Anna Freshwater said she sees Riggleman’s directness and willingness to challenge the Republican Party as a positive attribute for him as a representative but had some doubts about his potential effectiveness.
“I think there’s a lot of good ole’ boys up there that are just sitting there .. and are all lip service,” Freshwater said. “I don't know how much he can get done, [but] he can build himself a reputation and hopefully stay in there … and make a difference.”
Another one of Riggleman’s supporters, Will Kiley, saw Riggleman’s outsider status and local mentality as a great benefit to the district, especially for small-business owners.
“[Representatives are] up for reelection in two years, they need to be in touch with the people, in touch with the base, they need to know what’s happening,” Kiley said. “Growing up in Virginia, there has been a certain disconnect between politicians in Washington, not just from Virginia, and people they represent on both sides of the aisle.”
Kiley also emphasized Riggleman’s stance on economic policy as the most important issue for his campaign — which includes calls for decreased taxes and fewer regulations in order to stimulate the development of small businesses.
“He talks a lot about regulation, and taxes and things that affect businesses and I think that’s great because he has first hand experience facing those things, having his own distillery and small business and everything,” Kiley said. “I think that really gives him a first hand look of the issues that people in his district face when it comes to trying to grow their own business.”
Much of Riggleman’s economic policy — and motivation for running for Congress more broadly — is the product of his experience in opening Silverback Distillery. Riggleman has said his entry into politics can be attributed to his previous battles with government bureaucracy and liquor interest groups, while he was establishing the distillery in 2014.
“After serving my country, starting and selling my own company and doing those types of things, I didn’t realize how awful it was to try to start a business and all the regulations and all the things we went through,” Riggleman said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily.
Riggleman said he has independently attempted to change laws regarding small businesses and taxes for the past four years, but added that his efforts have been largely obstructed by special interest groups.
“When I started interacting with all these lobbyists, what I found out was that with these cronies if I didn't pay to play, I couldn't get anything done,” Riggleman said. “I thought that was the biggest foul of all time.”
“I thought my service was over after the military, but I saw that maybe someone like me who hated politics should get involved in it,” he added.
Riggleman said his experience as a small business owner and as a regular American citizen is what appeals to many moderate, middle class voters in the Fifth District. He added that, especially among younger voters in the district, the vast majority of voters are “radically in the middle” and prefer solutions-based politics rather than partisan division.
“I think what people like is that I’m real,” Riggleman said. “I think people see that transparency and honesty and think ‘maybe this guy will do the right thing by us because he's obviously not a politician.’”
Riggleman supporter Zach Deatherage echoed this idea of having a representative who describes the local issues specific to the Fifth District, and especially rural areas.
“It’s the House of Representatives, you want someone who represents that, just the ideas and the makeup of that district, the values,” Deatherage said. “I think that’s one thing that‘s really appealing about Mr. Riggleman, is he’s a home-grown Nelson County boy. He’s someone who knows the issues that the district is going to face.”
Riggleman said he distinguishes himself from other politicians through his willingness to serve others, adding that he never wanted to be a politician growing up or at any point in his life until recent years.
“Everybody just wants power,” Riggleman said. “I might be the only one running who doesn't want power — I just want to help people because I can.”
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