Convicted Criminal Don Blankenship, Responsible For 29 Deaths, Tied For GOP Senate Primary Lead
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Former coal baron Don Blankenship is now in a dead heat in the GOP’s West Virginia Senate primary — even though he’s still on probation after serving one year in federal prison for conspiring to violate mine safety standards.
A poll conducted for the Senate campaign of Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R-WV) in advance of the May 8 primary put Morrisey and Blankenship in a statistical tie, with Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-WV) several points behind. The winner will probably face Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in November, who is widely seen as vulnerable in a state President Trump won in 2016 by 40 percent.
But as Politico reported Tuesday morning, “National Republicans — on the heels of the Roy Moore and Rick Saccone debacles — worry they’re staring down their latest potential midterm election fiasco.”
Blankenship is the former CEO of Massey Energy and has been a major figure in state politics for decades, helping turn West Virginia from solid blue to deep red in recent years with $200,000 in donations to GOP candidates and party committees. But his candidacy was originally viewed with some skepticism when he first announced he was running in November.
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https://thinkprogress.org/national-republicans-worried-about-don-blankenship-2634f9c57817/
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