Don Blankenship appears out of luck of if he loses his bid for the Republican nomination for Senate in West Virginia, as the has a “sore loser” law on the books that prevents failed primary candidates from running in the general election.
A spokesman for the West Virginia secretary of state on Monday confirmed the statute and that it precludes candidates who lose in the Democratic or Republican primary from filing to run as an independent or third party candidate in November.
The secretary of state’s office declined to comment on any legal remedies Blankenship, a wealthy coal baron, might seek to sidestep the law. But it would appear that his only option if he comes up short on Tuesday would be to run as a long-shot write-in candidate.
This is the language taken from page four of West Virginia’s “Running for Office” guide:
“THE “SORE LOSER” or “SOUR GRAPES” LAW (W. Va. Code §§ 3-5-7(d)(6) and 3-5-23) Candidates affiliated with a recognized political party who run for election in a primary election and who lose the nomination cannot change her or his voter registration to a minor party organization/unaffiliated candidate to take advantage of the later filing deadlines and have their name on the subsequent general election ballot.”
Blankenship in an interview with CBS News over the weekend threatened to run unaffiliated in the fall if he loses Tuesday’s primary. Any participation in the midterm by Blankenship would make Republicans nervous — and be welcomed by incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
Blankenship was convicted in federal court of conspiracy to violate mine safety standards in 2016 following an explosion that left 29 coal miners dead. That, more than his use of racially tinged advertising in which he calls Chinese-Americans “China people,” or referring to Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as “cocaine Mitch,” is what has Republicans worried.
President Trump on Monday morning urged West Virginia Republicans to support either Rep. Evan Jenkins or state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in the primary, warning that nominating Blankenship would pave the way for the vulnerable Manchin to hang on and win another term.
“Remember Alabama,” Trump tweeted. Republicans suffered an unexpected loss in a special election for Senate in Alabama in December after nominating a flawed candidate. Blankenship is still within striking distance, according to internal polls first reported by The Weekly Standard’s John McCormack.
“The race has been back and forth between Jenkins/Morrissey/Blankenship for the last several weeks,” a Republican operative in West Virginia told the Washington Examiner in an email exchange. “At different points each has had a slight lead. However, because of the huge swath of undecided voters, I am not sure I would characterize any of them as having a noteworthy lead.”
A Republican-aligned super PAC, Mountain Families PAC, has spent heavily to defeat Blankenship. Duty and Country PAC, a Democratic-affiliated super PAC, has invested seven figures to defeat Jenkins, with some money going toward attacking Morrisey, in a clear attempt to boost Blankenship.
Blankenship has run as an outsider businessman — the true heir apparent to Trump. If he loses on Tuesday but runs as a write-in, it would not necessarily be unprecedented and he has the deep pockets to finance it (he is self-funding his Senate campaign.)
In 2010, after losing her Republican primary, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska ran as a write-in and defeated the GOP and Democratic nominees.
