WEST VIRGINIA: Don “Cocaine Mitch” Blankenship To File Third Party Senate Bid, Legal Battle Likely To Ensue

The Hill reports:

Ex-coal CEO Don Blankenship is preparing to run as a third-party candidate in the West Virginia Senate race after losing his bid for the GOP nomination in a move that is likely to spark a fierce legal battle.

Blankenship’s campaign announced that he will file paperwork on Tuesday to appear on the ballot in November as the Constitution Party’s Senate nominee. The move will probably spark a high-stakes legal battle in the state, viewed as one of a handful of contests that will determine which party controls the Senate next year.

Republicans, including the West Virginia Secretary of State, argue that West Virginia’s “sore loser law” prevents Blankenship from running as a third-party Senate candidate after losing the Republican nomination in May to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

Joe Manchin is surely thrilled.