Bigfoot has found his way into the political scene of Virginia.
Leslie Cockburn, a Democratic congressional candidate in Virginia’s 5th District, called her opponent, Republican Denver Riggleman, a “devotee of Bigfoot erotica.”
The accusation came in a tweet on Sunday, showing an Instagram post of Riggleman that depicts a nude Bigfoot.
My opponent Denver Riggleman, running mate of Corey Stewart, was caught on camera campaigning with a white supremacist. Now he has been exposed as a devotee of Bigfoot erotica. This is not what we need on Capitol Hill. pic.twitter.com/0eBvxFd6sG
— Leslie Cockburn (@LeslieCockburn) July 29, 2018
“This is not what we need on Capitol Hill,” Cockburn stated.
Riggleman told The Washington Post he is not a fan of "Bigfoot erotica" and that his campaign was “stunned” by the accusation.
He did admit that he wrote a satirical book on Bigfoot that has been a running joke with his “military pals” for over a decade. Riggleman is a former Air Force intelligence officer and defense contractor. He claims the Instagram post Cockburn tweeted out was a picture drawn by his friend as a joke.
“I thought it was funny. There is no way that anybody’s dumb enough to think this is real,” he said.
“I do not believe that Bigfoot is real,” he explained, jokingly adding, “But I don’t want to alienate any Bigfoot voters."
Yes-I wrote a book about Bigfoot believers. Bigfoot pics by military bubbas are meant to be funny. I didn't know what Bigfoot Erotica was until @LeslieCockburn mentioned it. Weird things happening in her campaign-Let's stick to issues and Leslie's book. #bigfoot #DangerousLiaison
— Denver Riggleman (@Denver4VA) July 30, 2018
He even said he eventually plans to publish his Bigfoot book.
“When people read it, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, my goodness, this was 14 years of practical jokes.’”
That just about sums up politics in 2018.