Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., waved goodbye to Don Blankenship, the multi-millionaire coal baron who finished third in the race for the West Virginia GOP Senate nomination Tuesday night.
In a tweet, McConnell’s political team sent out a graphic featuring a grinning Senate Republican bidding adieu to the recently imprisoned GOP candidate, who fell to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.
“Thanks for playing, Don,” McConnell said in the graphic. The picture is a play on the Netflix show, “Narcos,” and the “Cocaine Mitch” nickname Blankenship coined for the Senate GOP leader.
Thanks for playing, @DonBlankenship. #WVSen pic.twitter.com/TV1ETgQdmu
— Team Mitch (@Team_Mitch) May 9, 2018
Throughout the campaign, Blankenship leveled increasingly personal attacks against the Senate Republican leader and his family, saying that the family of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, McConnell’s wife, are “China-persons,” along with the “Cocaine Mitch” moniker.
This is not the first time McConnell has trolled his political opponents when they’ve been cut down. After President Trump torched Steve Bannon following comments the former White House chief strategist made about his son Donald Trump, Jr., McConnell’s political team tweeted out a gif of McConnell grinning ear to ear.
Morrisey will face off with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in the November general election and McConnell forces have already announced they will support him in the contest. The Senate Leadership Fund, McConnell’s PAC, said in a statement Tuesday night that they plan to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the state attorney general.
“General Morrissey was a champion for West Virginia coal when Barack Obama was trying to run it out of business and Joe Manchin was busy unsuccessfully peddling Hillary Clinton to West Virginia voters,” said Steven Law, the head of SLF. “We look forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with Patrick Morrisey to defeat Joe Manchin this November.
