West Virginia

TexasTowelie

(116,799 posts) Thu May 24, 2018, 05:00 AM May 2018

Blankenship Wants Revenge Against Trumpanzee And Cocaine Mitch

A couple of weeks ago we looked at a logical question: Will Blankenship Get Revenge Against Cocaine Mitch And Señor Trumpanzee? Early this morning, Alex Isenstadt had the answer at Politico: Yup. Start by watching the hilarious Facebook ad above. Today Blankenship announced he is running in the general election as the nominee of the Constitution Party and it seems like his only goal is to take votes from the Republican nominee, Patrick Morrisey, handing reelection to conservative Democrat Joe Manchin, who could probably win without the help anyway. One problem Blankenship needs to face up to first: "[H]e would need to overcome a 'sore loser' law in West Virginia that prevents failed candidates in a main-party primary from refiling to run in the general election under another party’s banner." And that law could have had him or someone just like him in mind when it passed.

Blankenship said he’s prepared to challenge that law in court if needed. If he’s successful, his move that could hurt the GOP’s prospects of unseating Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin in November.

“It is especially appropriate for me to be nominated by the Constitution Party given its staunch and uncompromising commitment to upholding the United States Constitution,” Blankenship said.

Should he follow through on his threat, Blankenship, who spent a year behind bars following the 2010 explosion at his Upper Big Branch Mine that killed 29 workers, could play spoiler in the general election by drawing votes from the GOP nominee, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. Since the primary, Blankenship has refused to endorse Morrisey, whom he says is incapable of defeating Manchin.