Former Virginia Republican Rep. Denver Riggleman said he has formed an exploratory committee to run for statewide office as an independent.
“That's why we created the review committee, because we think we need someone who is going to pull out the ax and tell us the truth, whether or not there's an R&D behind a person's name.” Riggleman told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday.
“A lot of people have asked me, but they don't have to force me. Nobody's going to force me to do anything,” he continued. It was interesting to see how much support there was.”
Riggleman said it's “absolutely possible” he could run for lieutenant governor. The former congressman, a businessman, said he is unsure whether he can run for governor and is looking at potential “conflicts of interest.”
In Virginia, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately.
Riggleman was elected to represent Virginia's 5th District in 2018, but was ousted by conservative Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) at the Republican convention.
The former congressman has been a vocal critic of President-elect Trump and has endorsed Vice President Harris in the 2024 presidential election as part of the Republican Party's pro-Harris campaign.
Riggleman was endorsed by President Trump in two separate campaigns, but broke with the former president on January 6.
The former lawmaker also lamented the two-party system, saying what he saw on both sides of the aisle was “terrifying based on special interests.”
Virginia is likely to become the center of the political world later this year, with off-year elections scheduled for November. Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears (R) and Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-Virginia) are seen as likely to hold the Republican-Democratic ticket. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and three other Democrats are listed as candidates for lieutenant governor, and business consultant John Curran is running on the Republican side.
