Invoking the specter of Roy Moore’s Senate loss in Alabama, President Donald Trump tweeted Monday urging Republicans to choose any candidate in Tuesday’s West Virginia Republican Senate primary other than coal baron and ex-convict Don Blankenship.
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
Blankenship recently spent a year in prison for his failure to prevent a fatal mine explosion and has spent the last few weeks of the campaign attacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his family, calling them “China people.”
Some say that Blankenship has gained some momentum in his race against two establishment candidates in recent weeks, despite his many flaws.