At this point, we all know who Don Blakenship (R. WV) and how he’s not going away:
Blankenship has said the GOP’s newly minted Senate nominee, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, would likely lose in the fall — and promised to work to defeat him. He’s not the only sore loser: In Ohio, businessman Mike Gibbons is harboring lingering frustration over Rep. Jim Renacci's primary tactics during their Senate race, according to a Republican close to Gibbons, and is not yet prepared to endorse the congressman’s campaign.
Republicans are banking on a unified base to defeat red-state Democratic senators who have specialized in getting cross-party votes in the past. But a few primary also-rans’ unwillingness to get behind the party is already making people nervous in a couple of key GOP Senate targets. In West Virginia, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin looks more vulnerable than ever — just as Blankenship and his campaign manager have opened a rift in the state Republican Party.
“Obviously, I’m worried,” said Mitch Carmichael, the Republican president of the West Virginia state Senate. “But I think it will be seen as just sour grapes.”
Blankenship, who last year finished a prison sentence for conspiring to violate mine safety standards and came in third place after running a divisive and controversial campaign, has doubled down on a campaign pledge to never support Morrisey, writing in an open letter to President Donald Trump: “Patrick Morrisey will likely lose the general election.”
Blankenship has never been a party man — since the primary, he has continued to attack Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who he memorably dubbed "cocaine Mitch." But Blankenship was considered a threat to win the nomination at one time, and he has a big megaphone. And Greg Thomas, Blankenship’s campaign manager, has gone further, saying in a local radio interview after the primary that the former coal executive was taking a couple of weeks off but evaluating options for the general election. He called Morrisey a “corrupt carpetbagger.”
In addition to working with Blankenship, Thomas is executive director of the state Senate caucus. Carmichael said state senators are united behind Morrisey, and they are evaluating whether Thomas can continue to work with them if he also aids Blankenship in opposing the attorney general’s campaign. Carmichael also spoke with Thomas recently to convey frustration about the comments on Morrisey. (Thomas did not return multiple emails requesting comment.)
“It was very disappointing he took that approach,” Carmichael said. “You can represent your client, but you can't also represent the state Senate candidates who are united behind Patrick Morrisey."
Blakenship even threatened to run as a third party candidate but according to West Virginia’s “sour grapes” law, someone who loses the primary can’t run in the general as an Independent candidate. Well this morning, “sour grapes” and “sore losers” be damned, he’s going for it:
West Virginia coal baron and former prisoner Don Blankenship announced on Monday that he plans to launch a long-shot third-party Senate bid after finishing a distant third in this month’s Republican primary.
Blankenship said he would run in the general election as the Constitution Party nominee. But he 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.
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.
Under West Virginia law, minor party candidates have until Aug. 1 to file the necessary number of signatures to qualify for the ballot. Still, it is unclear whether Blankenship is eligible.
The Charleston Gazette referenced some legal experts and they point out that Blakenship could get past the “sour grapes” law:
After reviewing state code, some experts raised their eyebrows at the notion.
“Blankenship probably has an uphill fight to run as an independent after losing the primary, but the law is fuzzy enough that he has an argument against the [Secretary of State’s] position,” he said.
Specifically, Kang noted the law cited by the Secretary of State prohibits independent runs after a primary loss from “candidates who are not already candidates in the primary election for public office.”
He said because Blankenship was — not is — a candidate for the primary election for public office, he may have room to argue. However, he said it is unlikely the Secretary of State would interpret the code as such, potentially triggering a legal challenge. He also said it would be hard to tease out the legislative intent from a wording error.
“It’s a decent argument without knowing more, and if I were determined to run and had the resources to litigate, I would think it’s worth trying out,” Kang said.
Mike Queen, communications director for Secretary of State Mac Warner, said there is no specific language currently in West Virginia code that spells out a sour grapes law. However, he said his office would look to the “intent” of the lawmakers.
“The Secretary’s position is that Mr. Blankenship is not permitted to run again in the general election for the United States Senate,” he said. “If Mr. Blankenship pursues the matter, he will most likely have to bring a legal action to force the Secretary to approve his candidacy and to place his name on the general election ballot. At that time, the court would have to rely on legislative intent, among other legal issues and perhaps previous decisions, to determine if Mr. Blankenship is entitled to run again.”
Robert Bastress teaches constitutional law at West Virginia University. He, too, noted the past-tense/present-tense issue in how the law was phrased. He said he looked into the matter when the Legislature last amended the code and found no effective sour grapes clause.
“I know when the Legislature last amended [the law], it thought it had precluded sore losers, but when I researched the issue after that amendment, I concluded that it was not totally clear that it had done so,” he said. “There is nothing in the Code, to my knowledge, that is as clear as what the [Secretary of State] says.”
He said it seems as if it could be argued either way.
Right now, we’ll have to wait and see how this whole thing plays out. One thing is for sure, this is not what the GOP wants in their bid to unseat Manchin. While I’m not a fan of Manchin either, I’m hoping this plays out well for him. Click here if you want to donate or get involved with his re-election campaign.