Republican Riggleman defeats Dem in Virginia’s 5th District

Republican Denver Riggleman defeated Democrat Leslie Cockburn to maintain GOP control of Virginia’s 5th District on Tuesday night.

The polls in the lead up to election night showed Cockburn and Riggleman locked in a tight race for the generally Republican district.

{mosads}Cockburn also scored an endorsement from former Republican Sen. John Warner (Va.) late last month, who said that while he was still a Republican, Cockburn was “an exceptional candidate.”

President Trump endorsed Riggleman in the race late last month.

The race was not without controversy: Cockburn earlier this year accused Riggleman of being a “devotee of Bigfoot erotica,” sharing photos attributed to his private Instagram of a nude Sasquatch with its genitals censored.

Riggleman denied that he was into “Bigfoot erotica,” claiming that his work is “really is an anthropological study on all the people who believe in Bigfoot and the different Bigfoot belief systems out there.”

And Cockburn also had star power on her side: Her daughter, actress Olivia Wilde, knocked on doors for her mother last month.

Riggleman was picked as the Republican candidate in the race after Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) announced that he would retire and seek treatment for alcoholism. Garrett initially said that he would run for reelection for the seat.