Tag Archives: Don Blankenship

The Hill reports: A former CEO of a coal company who once said he is “Trumpier than Trump” has launched a bid for Senate as a Democrat in West Virginia. Don Blankenship, who previously ran for the Republican nomination for the seat in 2018 but lost, filed his candidacy Friday for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joe Manchin …

NBC News reports: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to consider overturning a landmark case that gives protections to news organizations facing defamation claims by rejecting an appeal brought by West Virginia coal baron Don Blankenship. Blankenship, also an erstwhile Republican Senate candidate, sued various news organizations for referring to him as a convicted felon when in fact he was …

The Washington Post reports: For the past two years, a GOP Senate candidate in West Virginia has been suing Trump Jr. for defamation. At issue is Trump Jr. claiming during the 2018 campaign that Don Blankenship, whom Trump and his allies opposed in the primary, was a “felon.” That’s false. Blankenship was charged with felonies related to an explosion at …

The Hill reports: Former coal executive and federal prisoner Don Blankenship filed paperwork on Thursday to launch a third-party White House bid. Blankenship, who also unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in West Virginia last year, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission announcing he would be a presidential candidate for the Constitution Party. The former coal baron released a statement …

The Huntington Herald-Dispatch reports: Former Massey Energy CEO and U.S. Senate candidate Don Blankenship on Thursday filed a lawsuit seeking at least $12 billion in damages from a variety of national news and political organizations, claiming they set out on a “search and destroy” mission against his 2018 candidacy for the Senate. The lawsuit, filed in Mingo County Circuit Court, …

The West Virginia Metro News reports: Don Blankenship will not be on the November General Election ballot for U.S. Senate in West Virginia after the state Supreme Court denied his attempt in an order handed down Wednesday afternoon. The order came about three hours after oral arguments had concluded before the Court in which Blankenship’s attorney argued the state’s Sore …

Politico reports: West Virginia’s secretary of state on Thursday denied Don Blankenship’s bid to appear on the Senate ballot as a third-party candidate, a victory for Republicans hoping to consolidate votes against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in the general election. Secretary of State Mac Warner said Blankenship’s bid would violate the state’s “sore loser law” preventing a candidate who lost …

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 …

Talking Points Memo reports: Despite finishing last place in the West Virginia Republican primaries last week, Don Blankenship is still releasing advertisements attacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who funneled thousands of dollars into that race to oppose him. In a new 60-second spot shared on Blankenship’s Facebook page over the weekend, the failed Senate candidate attacked McConnell for …

Slate reports: It’s been pretty hard to predict which way the Republican Party would go of late, what with the whole Donald Trump situation, but anyone who bet big on “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell celebrates a political enemy’s defeat by gleefully comparing himself to Pablo Escobar” is cleaning up in the office pool tonight. After Don Blankenship lost the …

CNN reports: Ex-convict and coal baron Don Blankenship has lost his bid for the Republican Senate nomination in West Virginia, CNN projects. CNN projects he will place third, behind Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Rep. Evan Jenkins, in the race to take on Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in the fall. The political world was watching to see how Blankenship would …

Fox News reports: On the final day of a chaotic primary campaign, a radio announcement from Don Blankenship, Republican hopeful for Senate in West Virginia, does not seek to deny or explain away charges leveled against him by his own party’s establishment. He’s embracing those attacks instead. “They are calling me a bigot, a moron, a despicable character and mentally …

The Weekly Standard reports: Republicans are panicking as internal polls show Don Blankenship, a coal baron who spent time in jail for a mining disaster that killed 29 workers, surging into the lead in the West Virginia Senate GOP primary over Attorney General Patrick Morrissey and Congressman Evan Jenkins. The results of an internal campaign poll conducted for one rival …

Fox News reports: President Trump made an extraordinary appeal Monday for Republican primary voters to oppose former coal baron Don Blankenship in the looming West Virginia Senate primary, saying he “can’t win” in the general election. Trump, in an early-morning tweet, instead urged voters to pick one of his two rivals, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey or Rep. Evan Jenkins. The …

Politico reports: West Virginia GOP Senate hopeful Don Blankenship is amping up his racial attacks on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with a new ad declaring, “Swamp captain Mitch McConnell has created millions of jobs for China people.” “While doing so, Mitch has gotten rich,” Blankenship adds. “In fact, his China family has given him tens of millions of dollars.” …

Talking Points Memo reports: In a new off-kilter, 30-second campaign spot, West Virginia Senate candidate Don Blankenship vows if elected to fight for the pro-life agenda, create jobs, “end the drug epidemic” and “ditch cocaine Mitch,” referencing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “One of my goals as U.S. senator will be to ditch cocaine Mitch. When you vote for me, …

The Hill reports: A Republican running for the U.S. Senate in West Virginia suggested that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) faced conflicts of interests because his wife’s father is a “wealthy Chinaperson.” Don Blankenship during a Monday appearance on a West Virginia radio show pointed to McConnell’s marriage to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. “I have an issue when the …