In 2018, coal mining executive Don Blankenship decided it was time to shake up Washington. Running for West Virginia’s Republican nomination for the US Senate, Blankenship earned his 15 minutes of fame by telling voters he’d be one of the voices in the Senate that would lead the charge to ditch “Cocaine Mitch.”
He didn’t win the primary, coming in third. Blankenship later ran for president in 2020 as the Constitution Party’s candidate. Now, the Don man is back, but as a Democrat. With Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV opting not to run for re-election, it’s a free-for-all on both sides (via WOWK 13):Don Blankenship, political lightning rod and former coal titan who spent a year in jail on a mine safety conspiracy conviction, is running AS A DEMOCRAT for U.S. Senate pic.twitter.com/oYlQorloPm
— Brad McElhinny (@BradMcElhinny) January 26, 2024
The West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office says another candidate has thrown his hat into the ring for U.S. Senate.
Embattled former coal executive Don Blankenship filed Friday to run as a Democrat in the U.S. Senate race for the seat currently held by U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, who announced in November he would not be running for re-election.
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The former CEO of Massey Energy was found guilty in 2015 of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards at the Upper Big Branch mine where 29 miners were killed in April 2010. He served one year in prison on the charge.
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Numerous Republican candidates are also vying for the seat. The WV Secretary of State’s office lists the Republicans running in the race as West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, U.S. Representative Alex Mooney, Bryan Bird of Beckley, Zane Lawhorn of Princeton, Don Lindsay of Baker, Bryan McKinney of Inwood, and Janet McNutly of Martinsburg.
Jim Justice will probably be the Republican nominee and the eventual winner in this race. He’s one of the most popular governors in the country, even more popular than Manchin, where his home state’s political facelift has finally caught up to him. The outgoing Democrat was excellent at retail politics, where even Republicans in West Virginia liked him. With Trump back on the scene and the state getting redder, he saw the writing on the wall. As for Blankenship, if he somehow wins the Democratic nomination, credit him, but no Democrat is winning this Senate seat.
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Vox had a good summary of what's behind the "Cocaine Mitch" moniker back in 2018:
The thin-to-nonexistent basis for this charge is that McConnell’s in-laws, the Chao family, own a cargo shipping company, and a few years back, about 90 pounds of cocaine was found on one of that company’s ships as it was about to leave Colombia. However, no one has ever alleged that this apparent smuggling operation was run by the company itself, let alone that McConnell or his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, had any involvement.
The accusation of criminality is all the stranger since it’s coming from a candidate who himself was only recently released from prison. Blankenship is a former coal company CEO convicted of conspiring to violate federal mine safety laws after a disaster that killed 29 miners.
UPDATE: West Virginia Democrats are not happy about Blankenship's candidacy:
West Virginia Democratic Party Statement on Don Blankenship filing to run for US Senate as a Democrat pic.twitter.com/oHn6C9Fovr
— WV Democratic Party (@wvdemocrats) January 26, 2024