It’s looking more and more like a reality:
Former West Virginia coal magnate Don Blankenship says he’s ready to get back into the West Virgnia senate race.
Blankenship said he has collected the requisite number of petition signatures and will be filing with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office in the next two weeks.
Blankenship, who was defeated in the Republican May 8 primary by state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, accepted the Constitution Party nomination on May 22.
“We have submitted more than the required petition signatures to the Secretary of State,”Blankenship said in an email on Friday.
Collecting petition signatures is one of the obligatory hoops Blankenship needed to jump through to get back in the U.S. Senate race.
It is still not clear whether Blankenship’s proposed candidacy change violates West Virginia’s “sore loser” law that restricts a candidate from accepting a political party’s nomination after having already lost in a primary.
According to a guide book listed on the West Virginia Secretary of State website, “candidates affiliated with a recognized political party who run for election in a primary election and who lose the nomination cannot change her or his voter registration to a minor party organization/unaffiliated candidate to take advantage of the later filing deadlines and have their name on the subsequent general election ballot.”
A spokesman for the Office of the Secretary of State said the office cannot rule on Blankenship’s candidacy until he files all the necessary nomination and candidacy paperwork, including more than 6,000 signatures. He has until Aug.1 to file.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D. WV) is already leading Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R. WV) in the polls but having Blankenship as the third party candidate helps Manchin and hurts the GOP even more. Manchin can breath easier if Blankenship is on the ballot. Also, I wanted to give you all an update on Manchin and the upcoming Supreme Court vote:
As U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh continues to meet with members of the Senate, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is encouraging West Virginians to send him their thoughts on the nominee.
A website and email address have been set up by Manchin’s office for constituents to comment on the federal judge.
“I take my responsibility to advise and consent on a nominee to the Supreme Court very seriously. As I did when Merrick Garland and Neil Gorsuch were nominated, I am evaluating Judge Kavanaugh’s record, legal qualifications, judicial philosophy and particularly, his views on health care, in particular,” Manchin said. “I encourage West Virginians to review his qualifications themselves and share their thoughts and concerns with me.”
Constituents can submit their views of Kavanaugh through a form on Manchin’s Senate website or by emailing SCOTUS@manchin.senate.gov.
If you live in West Virginia or have friends and family in the state, I urge you to contact Manchin’s office and urge him to vote no on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.