Everyone in Washington, D.C. knows Don Blankenship is putting the Republican majority at risk. The ex-con and former coal CEO has long been a pariah in his home state. His crime? He violated federal mine safety standards, causing or contributing to the death of 29 people in the big explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine — the worst mining accident in over forty years.
Blankenship spent a year in prison for his role in that accident, but he has never shown meaningful remorse. His conviction was bogus, he said, and he called himself a “political prisoner” of the Obama administration.
He launched his campaign for Senate in West Virginia, and it has been about as crazy as you would expect. Blankenship runs like a mini-Trump, though he never bothered to vote in 2016. He praises communist China and disparages democracy.
Oh, and he accuses Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, of smuggling cocaine into the U.S.
Hands down, Don Blankenship is the worst candidate running in the West Virginia Republican primary, and the best opportunity for incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin to keep his seat. So, why isn’t the National Republican Senate Committee making moves to stop Blankenship before he can do more damage?
According to NRSC Chairman Cory Gardner, R-Colo., it’s because it wouldn’t matter.
“What we’ve seen is that the people of West Virginia, the people of Indiana, the people of Missouri could care less who the senatorial committee is supportive of,” Gardner explained during a recent meeting of the Washington Examiner editorial board. “In fact, [an NRSC intervention] may have the opposite effect.”
Republican politicos have learned the hard way not to meddle in primaries. The GOP establishment put its money behind Sen. Luther Strange during the special Alabama election last December and against Rep. Mo Brooks. A resentful electorate launched a guerrilla counter offensive to hand the nomination to disgraced Judge Roy Moore instead. Meddling early, the NRSC and others learned, creates problems in the end.
But if Republicans aren’t meddling in the race, the Democrats most certainly are. They have put more than $1.2 million into the race to make sure Blankenship wins, giving Manchin (they hope) a free pass. A week before the primary, one super PAC has dropped over $1.2 million against his opponents, a veritable “deal with the devil” that former state Democratic vice chairman Christopher Regan condemns in today’s Washington Examiner as awful and irresponsible.
Gardner remains mostly silent. He once quipped about how Blankenship wouldn’t be allowed onto the floor of the Senate with a home arrest ankle bracelet, a comment he says in retrospect was “probably a little too flippant.” Aware that his words might do more harm than good, Gardner refuses to weigh in on a race that could control Republican control of the Senate.
“I have no doubt that West Virginia will be competitive no matter what happens, no matter what happens,” Gardner says repeating himself for emphasis. But would the NRSC spend party money on electing Blankenship? “The people of West Virginia will send a Republican who can win in November,” Gardner responds. “The senatorial committee is going to be for winning the seat.”
