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Riggleman Smoked in Manipulated Convention, Dems Vow to Invest Millions to Flip VA-05 Red Seat

By John Fredericks

Presumptive VA-05 GOP nominee Bob Good celebrated a stunning victory early Sunday morning, ousting one-term incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman while garnering 58 percent of the “drive-by” convention vote.

Less than 3,000 mobile delegates participated in the nomination knock-out coup, engineered by the infamous conventioneer political consultant duo of Chris and Diana Shores.

They’re the new Bonnie and Clyde of Virginia GOP convention politics.

The Shores convention cabal just missed nominating Virginia State Committeewoman Cynthia Dunbar to both the Fifth and Sixth Districts in 2018. This was sweet revenge.

President Trump endorsed Riggleman in the race and suffered his first primary endorsement defeat this cycle.

The margin of Good’s victory (58-42) sends a clear warning sign to other VA GOP incumbents that if you don’t tow the line of unit chairs in various districts, they can force a convention, manipulate the rules and take you out.

This scenario played out in VA House of Delegates District 97 in 2019, when Scott Wyatt defeated Del. Chris Peace in a similarly shadily orchestrated convention maneuver.

Democrats now see VA-05 as a surprise takeover opportunity. The last Democrat to win the district was Tom Perriello in 2008. He served one term, losing in 2010 to Robert Hurt.