July 24, 2018 Press Releases and Announcements

Will Denver stick up for Danville? GOP nominee Riggleman silent after Corey Stewart disparages city in heart of VA-05


by DPVA Press Office

Richmond, VA – Denver Riggleman, Republican nominee for Congress in VA-05, has repeatedly refused to answer whether he will campaign with VA GOP standard-bearer Corey Stewart. Now in the face of Corey’s baseless insults of Danville in Saturday's U.S. Senate debate, Riggleman is once again silent - refusing to condemn Corey for denigrating a city in the district he seeks to represent in Congress.

This weekend in his debate with Senator Tim Kaine, Corey disparagingly said that in Danville “young people have left, the opioid crisis is completely out of control. The murder rate is way up. All crimes are way up. Suicides are way up, [and] you have boarded up shops…”

Local news outletseditorial boards, and community leaders wasted no time swiftly condemning Corey for his unfounded attacks on the city and bucking his claims as nothing more than another Corey Stewart lie. However, since Corey's Danville smears on Saturday, Denver Riggleman has been noticeably silent.

While Corey has been clear he has no intention of walking back his insults of Danville, will Denver Riggleman take up for Danville? Will he find the political courage that he has yet to show and stand up to Corey Stewart? DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker pressed him to do so immediately.

"When Corey Stewart insulted Danville this weekend, community leaders from all walks of life quickly rebuked Corey's attacks as another lie in his 'vicious' and fact-less campaign. But not Denver Riggleman. If Denver won't immediately defend Danville against Corey Stewart's smears, he will show just how unworthy he is to the sit in the United States Congress."