CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — Of all the issues for candidates to debate as they seek to represent Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, one in particular seems offbeat but nonetheless has gained considerable traction the past couple of days. We’re talking Bigfoot Erotica. As “she-said-he-said” political spats go, this head-scratching story has attracted national attention and is leaving sizable footprints.
Democratic nominee Leslie Cockburn of Rappahannock County took to Twitter last weekend to point out that her opponent, Republican Denver Riggleman, apparently has a keen interest in Bigfoot, as well as that mythical creature’s sex life.
As proof, she tweeted some Instagram screenshots from her opponent’s account, one of which showed a picture of the hairy man-monster with a long vertical black box ostensibly covering its genitalia. It came with the post, as the Daily Progress (Charlottesville) reported: “Cover art for “matinghabitsofbigfoot almost complete. I hide nothing in this magnificent tome. Don’t erase the censor box. . .”
Cockburn on Sunday tweeted “This is not what we need on Capitol Hill,” and told the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “These images are very disturbing; I think everyone should just look at them to see who this candidate is.”
Riggleman’s response? Nothing to see here. Move along. “When people are desperate, they do desperate things.” Besides, he said, the pictures were meant as a joke, and added he found Cockburn’s comments “hilarious.”
Riggleman has confirmed his interest in the Bigfoot. He has written at least one book about people who search for Bigfoot. According to The Washington Post, the retired Air Force intelligence officer deleted an author page seeming to promote his book, “The Mating Habits of Bigfoot and Why Women Want Him.” All a big joke, he told the newspaper.
Yes, but. . . Vox pointed to a story from 2014 in Buzzfeed, writing, “. . . there really is a robust subgenre of Bigfoot porn. So it’s possible that either Riggleman really is a devotee of Bigfoot erotica, or else he stumbled into the subject while researching other Bigfoot-related matters and that became the origin of some kind of Bigfoot porn inside joke,” adding that the Bigfoot affair has “led to a number of posts on social media that appear to be focused on Bigfoot’s genitalia.
Riggleman and Cockburn are competing for a seat with constituents from Northern Virginia to the North Carolina line. The incumbent, Rep. Tom Garrett, is not seeking re-election so he can focus on treatment for alcoholism.
Cockburn is touting her long career as an investigative reporter. She has worked as a producer for CBS News “60 Minutes,” a correspondent for PBS “Frontline,” a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton, a writer and author. Her work has garnered two Emmys, two George Polk Awards, two Columbia Dupont journalism awards, and the Robert F. Kennedy Award. She has covered issues from the financial collapse in 2007 to nuclear weapons, from radical jihad to the drug cartels. She covered the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Colombia, Cambodia and Central America.
Riggleman, a decorated veteran and businessman, is a Manassas native who now operates Silverback Distillery in Afton, Virginia. He and his wife currently distills and distributes gin, vodka and whiskeys, according to his campaign website. He said he has also been CEO of several defense contracting companies.
Photo by Kayana Szymczak/Getty Images
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