West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey defeated Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-WV) and coal businessman Don Blankenship to become the state’s Senate GOP nominee.
Morrisey defeated the establishment-backed candidate Jenkins and businessman Don Blankenship, who suggested on Sunday that he might challenge Donald Trump for president “if he gets in my way.”
Tea Party Patriots President Jenny Beth Martin cheered Morrisey’s victory in a statement on Tuesday night:
Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund congratulates Patrick Morrisey on his victory in the West Virginia Republican Primary for U.S. Senate. Our supporters urged us to back Patrick because he has proven himself to be a strong constitutional conservative with the fortitude and conviction necessary to dismantle Big Government without getting stuck in the Washington swamp. We are proud to have endorsed Patrick, and urge The Mountain State to send this conservative leader to Washington, DC.
President Donald Trump urged West Virginians to either vote for Rep. Jenkins or Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Monday, contending that coal businessman Don Blankenship cannot defeat Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in the general election.
Trump tweeted, “To the great people of West Virginia we have, together, a really great chance to keep making a big difference. Problem is, Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can’t win the General Election in your State…No way! Remember Alabama. Vote Rep. Jenkins or A.G. Morrisey!”
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Executive Director Chris Hansen cheered Morrisey’s victory in the West Virginia Republican primary. Hansen said in a statement:
Congratulations to Patrick Morrisey on his hard-fought victory in the West Virginia primary,” said NRSC Executive Director Chris Hansen. “Unlike loyal Democrat Joe Manchin, West Virginia families know that they can count on Attorney General Morrisey to fight for conservative values, and will send him to the U.S. Senate this November.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) argued in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News that only a true conservative can rally Republicans and conservative Democrats alike in a state such as West Virginia to defeat Sen. Manchin in the general election.
Several prominent conservative Republicans, including Sens. Paul, Ted Cruz (R-TX), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sebastian Gorka, and Tea Party Patriots president Jenny Beth Martin have endorsed Morrisey for U.S. Senate.
Sen. Paul told Breitbart News, “I think it’s always more important to be a conservative than the Republican party label. Even in West Virginia there are conservative Democrats. In my home state, I cannot win without conservative Democrats. Manchin may go home and say one thing, but the problem is that he votes for Chuck Schumer on day one and he votes for an agenda that’s so liberal that the Democrat party has strayed so far away from the Democrats in West Virginia. I think Patrick can get the conservative Democrats in West Virginia, people that go to church, who have families and care about their families, will vote for Patrick given the choice.”
Morrisey suggested in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News that he can beat Sen. Joe Manchin in the general election. Morrisey said, “I think if you want that contrast – a conservative vs. a liberal who’s part of the swamp in Washington, and I can get those results.”