Democratic candidate Leslie Cockburn Image by Getty Images

By Aiden Pink November 7, 2018

Democratic candidate and former journalist Leslie Cockburn, who was dogged during her race for her critical writings about the U.S.-Israel relationship, lost her effort to capture a Republican-held congressional district in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Associated Press called the race for Cockburn’s opponent Denver Riggleman at around 8:45 p.m. on Tuesday night. With around 75% of the votes counted, Riggleman was beating Cockburn 55%-45%.

Cockburn was accused of being a “virulent anti-Semite” by the Republican Party of Virginia for her past Israel comments. A 1991 book that Cockburn co-wrote with her husband, “Dangerous Liaison: The Inside Story of the U.S.-Israeli Covert Relationship,” was described in The New York Times’s review as being “largely dedicated to Israel-bashing for its own sake. Its first message is that, win or lose, smart or dumb, right or wrong, suave or boorish, Israelis are a menace. The second is that the Israeli-American connection is somewhere behind just about everything that ails us.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Cockburn and some of her Jewish supporters denied that she was anti-Semitic, but opponents made hay of the allegation regardless. A social media post by the state GOP stated: “Leslie Cockburn hates veterans, hates ICE, hates Israel. Basically, Leslie Cockburn hates America.” She was also targeted with a $300,000 TV ad campaign by the Republican Jewish Coalition.

The race was one of the most unusual in the country. Cockburn originally planned to run against incumbent Republican Rep. Tom Garrett, but he announced his retirement in May to seek treatment for alcoholism after Politico reported that Garrett and his wife would make his staffers do their shopping and other personal tasks. Garrett’s replacement, Riggleman, was mocked for his obsession with Bigfoot, including owning a drawing of what appeared to be Bigfoot erotica.

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount