Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-Va.) says he quit the Republican Party because the GOP has veered away from conservative principles and toward conspiracy theories and a cult of personality devoted to former President Donald Trump.
“I think the party left me some time ago,” Riggleman told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, adding that he quit due to the GOP’s “belief systems.”
“It’s absolutely insane what people have sort of put their arms around. If you look at ‘Stop the Steal,’ if you look at, you know, some of the COVID issues with the vaccination conspiracy theories, when you look at all the things in total, the fact is that a lot of that has been pushed by people around” Trump, Riggleman said.
He called the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to stop the certification of the election an “attempted coup” and said this week’s House select committee hearings will be revelatory for many Americans:
Riggleman won election in 2018, but lost a challenge two years later at a nominating convention to current Rep. Bob Good after being criticized for officiating a same-sex wedding. When Riggleman complained of irregularities in the process, Good fired back: “That’s what losers say.”
Months later, Good was among the Republicans who objected to President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump.