J.R. Riggins is a Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, representing District 59 in Casper. Riggins was first elected in November 2024 as a political newcomer, after incumbent Representative Kevin O’Hearn decided not to seek another term, and faced no opponent in either the Republican primary or the general election. Riggins took office on January 6, 2025. Seeking a second term in 2026, Riggins won the August Republican primary over challenger Neil Jeske and advanced to the November general election.1
Riggins, whose full name is Justin Ray Riggins, was born in Kadoka, South Dakota, and graduated from Kadoka High School in 1978 before later settling in Casper. Riggins works for Tallgrass Energy, an oil and gas company, and has worked as a project coordinator. Riggins married Leslie Ann Engel in 1981, and the couple has two children and five grandchildren.
District 59 covers part of Natrona County in and around Casper. In the House, Riggins serves on the Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee and on the Revenue Committee, assignments that reflect the district’s ties to the energy industry and the state’s tax policy debates. Shortly after the 2025 session opened, a medical appointment on January 20, 2025, found a blockage in Riggins’s heart that required triple bypass surgery. Riggins missed several weeks of the session during surgery and recovery and returned to the House on February 27, 2025.
