West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is projected to win the GOP Senate primary, ending Republican fears that ex-coal executive Don Blankenship could win the…
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is projected to win the GOP Senate primary, ending Republican fears that ex-coal executive Don Blankenship could win the nomination and blow Republican chances in November for a key Senate seat.
The Associated Press called the race at 10:19 p.m.
Morrisey defeated his leading GOP rivals, Blankenship and Rep. Evan Jenkins, for the chance to take on Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in November.
Republicans were growing increasingly worried that Blankenship would hurt the party’s ability to unseat Manchin, even though President Trump won West Virginia by more than 40 points in 2016.
The party feared a repeat of last year’s Alabama special election, when Democrats pulled off a huge upset victory in a deep-red state. Republican Roy Moore, a conservative firebrand, won the nomination, but ultimately lost the general election to now-Sen. Doug Jones (D) when The Washington Post reported sexual misconduct allegations involving Moore from decades earlier.
Republicans view West Virginia as a top pickup opportunity to help expand their slim 51-seat majority. And they believe Morrisey has a great shot at toppling Manchin.
When Blankenship appeared to be in a strong position a few weeks back, an outside group with ties to the national GOP dumped more than $1 million into attack ads to stymie the ex-coal baron’s momentum.
Some polls in the final weeks showed Morrisey in first place or polling close behind in second, but internal GOP surveys over the weekend found Blankenship rebounding into the lead.
When it appeared that Blankenship was surging ahead of Tuesday’s primary, Republicans made a last-ditch effort to counter him. Trump tweeted on Monday, calling on voters to support either Jenkins or Morrisey.
Morrisey himself waged an all-out offensive against Blankenship in the final days of the race. His campaign released a handful of press releases about why he’s unfit for office. And the day before the primary, Morrisey launched an attack ad over the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine.
Still, the majority of Morrisey’s campaign was focused on touting his pro-Trump bona fides and highlighting his efforts as state attorney general to fight Obama administration initiatives. He also argued that he was the only candidate in the race combating the ongoing opioid epidemic.
Morrisey mostly sparred with Jenkins in a vicious, yearlong campaign. The attorney general sought to cast Jenkins as a “lifelong career Democrat for 20 years.” But Morrisey also endured his fair share of attacks that will likely be used by Democrats in the general election.
Jenkins hammered Morrisey for his tri-state area roots and criticized him for working as a Washington lobbyist with ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
A Democratic outside group only spent a small sum of money opposing Morrisey, instead spending most of it on Jenkins. Those efforts were viewed as a way to boost Blankenship. But a spokesman said the super PAC’s data showed that Jenkins or Morrisey was likely to be the nominee.
Duty and Country PAC, a Washington-based Democratic super PAC, poured in more than $1.8 million in an attempt to cut down the congressman, while spending about $47,000 against Morrisey.
