Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:49 pm
Donald Trump just can’t stop meddling in state elections. He spent a lot of time campaigning in the Alabama special senate election against Roy Moore, who won the GOP nomination and then lost to Democrat Doug Jones. And now he’s involving himself in the West Virginia senate primary which takes place tomorrow.
This morning Trump tweeted,
“To the great people of West Virginia we have, together, a really great chance to keep making a big difference. Problem is, Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can’t win the General Election in your State…No way! Remember Alabama. Vote Rep. Jenkins or A.G. Morrisey!”
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To the great people of West Virginia we have, together, a really great chance to keep making a big difference. Problem is, Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can’t win the General Election in your State…No way! Remember Alabama. Vote Rep. Jenkins or A.G. Morrisey!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2018
It’s easy to understand why Trump is trying to stop Blankenship from getting the nomination. The former coal mining magnate spent a year in jail because of a coal mine accident he was blamed for. However, he is not unpopular among West Virginia Republicans.
After seeing Trump’s tweet Blankenship issued a rejoinder, saying:
“President Trump is a very busy man and he doesn’t know me and he doesn’t know how flawed my two main opponents are in this primary. The establishment is misinforming him because they do not want me to be in the US Senate and promote the President’s agenda. Tomorrow, West Virginia will send the swamp a message—no one, and I mean no one, will tell us how to vote.”
Blankenship released a very negative campaign ad Friday attacking Mitch McConnell, calling him “Cocaine Mitch” and claiming he got rich off of “China people” and his “China family.” Blankenship has surged ahead in the polls ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., went on Fox and Friends on Monday morning, attempting to clarify the president’s comments about Blankenship. He said that Trump, through his comments, is trying to avoid internal battles among Republicans and “find the very best person” to challenge incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat.
It’s interesting that McCarthy is praising Trump for trying to avoid internal battles among Republicans by attacking a fellow Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate. It is questionable whether this will work. Of course if Blankenship loses Trump will take credit, and will probably interject himself in more primaries. Time will tell if this approach will pay off for Republicans, but one thing is certain, they don’t have much choice but to play along with the president.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
