(CNN) Businessman Denver Riggleman, a distillery owner with no political experience, will be the Republican nominee for Virginia's 5th Congressional District, replacing outgoing Rep. Tom Garrett on the ballot.

The tumultuous and unexpected exit for the freshman member of Congress forced the Republican Party of Virginia to quickly pick his replacement, as Garrett had already been formally nominated. State and party rules give the state's Congressional District Committee the sole authority to replace him on the ballot. A flurry of candidates announced plans to stand before the committee to be considered for the nomination. It took four rounds of secret balloting before Riggleman was nominated.

The door opened to Riggleman's nomination after the frontrunner, state Sen. Bill Stanley, announced he was not going to seek the nomination, telling radio talk show host John Fredericks that he wasn't "built for Congress" and that he is seriously considering a run for statewide office in 2021. Stanley's exit set off a scramble for the other candidates to coalesce support.

Riggleman, a libertarian-leaning conservative who supports same-sex marriage, beat out arch-conservative Cynthia Dunbar. Dunbar, a recent Texas transplant and vehement supporter of President Donald Trump, narrowly lost a similar nominating contest in the neighboring 6th Congressional District. She played coy about her intentions in the 5th district and was not officially a candidate until she appeared at the forum Saturday morning.

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