President Donald Trump waded into the West Virginia primary for U.S. Senate this morning, urging voters to avoid an "Alabama" situation created by a surging Don Blankenship, a mine owner released from prison only a year ago. From the president's Twitter feed:
The multi-candidate field includes U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin in November.
By referencing Alabama, Trump raised the specter of last year’s December special election for U.S. Senate in that state, where former state Supreme Court justice Roy Moore, a Republican plagued by accusations that he dallied with teenaged girls as an adult state prosecutor, lost to Democrat Doug Jones. The loss was a crucial narrowing of the GOP margin in the Senate.
Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, had sent out a Tweet similar to that of his father last week:
I hate to lose. So I'm gonna go out on a limb here and ask the people of West Virginia to make a wise decision and reject Blankenship! No more fumbles like Alabama. We need to win in November. #wv #wvpol
There's some talk, including in this Politico.com piece, that Blankenship is gaining ground. Here are the Associated Press background paragraphs:
Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship is among six candidates in the Republican Senate primary Tuesday, almost a year to the day since his release from a California prison.
Blankenship's quest is to take down the man he blames for fueling public distrust of him: Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
The 68-year-old Blankenship served a one-year prison term on a misdemeanor conviction for conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine. An explosion at the mine in 2010 killed 29 miners.
The West Virginia contest is one of three Republican primaries for U.S. Senate to be held Tuesday. All are for the right to challenge Democratic incumbents, and all are occurring in a hostile mid-term environment.
In Ohio, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is seeking a third term. Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci in the Republican race. He faces Mike Gibbons, an investment banker running as an outsider a la Trump or David Perdue.
In Indiana, U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, the Democrat, will face one of three Republicans: Businessman Mike Braun and U.S. Reps. Todd Rokita and Luke Messer. The trio has been engaged in a particularly bitter fight.
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In Georgia, around the same time Stacey Evans launched a six-figure ad buy for a TV attack criticizing her rival Stacey Abrams' stance on the HOPE scholarship, the Democratic contender for governor gave her campaign a fresh cash infusion. Financial documents show Evans pumped another $150,000 of her own cash into the race last week, a surge of cash timed to coincide with the third volley of ads.
She’s now spent more than $1.3 million of her own cash on her bid for the party’s nomination on May 22.
Meanwhile, Abrams countered with a plea to her supporters to chip in for her second ad to combat her "self-funding opponent." She also sent a copy of the 30-second ad she hopes to air, a positive spot that includes mention of her plan to expand Medicaid. Take a look here:
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The latest round of financial documents also show some influential backers weighing in on the Democratic race. Former U.S. Rep. Buddy Darden and Macon District Attorney David Cooke are among the recent donors to Evans' camp. Abrams' newest contributors include Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Yelp, the San Francisco-based tech company.
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Out in Fayette County, we have a rare GOP primary challenge to a sitting state senator who has backed "religious liberty" legislation opposed by the state's business community.
This is an especially interesting race, given that the senate district is home to Pinewood Studios, the most successful movie/TV operation in the state.
Incumbent Marty Harbin, R-Tyrone, has raised a total of $33,665 as of March 31, and had $7,471 in cash on hand. He faces Tricia Stearns, a first-time candidate pointing out Harbin’s opposition to tax incentives for the film industry.
Stearns has raised $9,847, and had $6,069 as of March 31.
The GOP contest has been a lesson in the power of incumbency versus the power of business in political campaigns. On April 16, Chris Clark, who heads up the Georgia Chamber, held a fundraiser for Stearns.
Since then, she’s reported raising another $3,447 – including $1,000 from the Georgia Chamber PAC and $1,447 in in-kind contributions from the Metro Atlanta Chamber PAC.
Over the same period, Harbin has raised another $6,500 -- $4,500 from his Republican colleagues in the Senate.
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Friends of Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson of Tucker have compiled a devastating background paper on his Democratic primary opponent, Sabrina McKenzie. Take a look at it here – and pay particular attention to the anti-LGBT portion.
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Over at the Daily Report, Robin McDonald tells us that the Judicial Qualifications Commission, the watchdog over the state's judiciary, on Friday called out Ken Shigley, a candidate for the state Court of Appeals running against Ken Hodges, for bringing partisanship into a nonpartisan race. A Shigley press release referred to Hodges as a "lifelong Democrat."
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Dentons, an international law firm with a large Atlanta presence, recently saw Newt Gingrich and his lifetime ally Randy Evans depart. But promotions are coming to two well-known Georgia political influencers. Eric Tanenblatt, former chief of staff to Gov. Sonny Perdue, has been named chair of Dentons' global public policy and regulation practice. He's an electric vehicle enthusiast. Edward Lindsey, the former state House member, will head the firm's state government affairs team.
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Over at his blog hosted by Forbes magazine, Marshall Shepherd, director of the atmospheric sciences program at the University of Georgia, points to a new CDC report that says "sickness from ticks, mosquitoes, and fleas have tripled since 2004 with over 640,000 cases reported in the past 12 years or so." Climate change must be considered as a factor, he posits.
