CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey will take on incumbent Joe Manchin for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
With all of the precincts reporting in the May 8 Republican primary, Morrisey had 35 percent of the vote. U.S. Congressman Evan Jenkins was second with 29 percent of the vote, and former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship was third with 20 percent.
Tom Willis had 10 percent of the vote, while Jack Newbrough had 4 percent and Bo Copley had 3 percent.
“Thank you, West Virginia,” Morrisey tweeted after the results were clear. “Now it’s onto defeating Liberal Joe Manchin in November.”
A month ago, most who followed the race expected it to be a two-person race between Morrisey and Jenkins. But Blankenship had surged in polls in recent weeks. Outside groups – both Republican and Democrat – spent millions of dollars promoting their candidates and/or discrediting others.
Even President Trump weighed in on the race, urging West Virginians to vote for either Morrisey or Jenkins rather than Blankenship in a May 7 early morning tweet.
Manchin cruised to victory in the Democratic primary, maintaining a 70-30 lead over environmental activist Paula Jean Swearengin.
“I want to work with the president in every way I can,” Manchin said Tuesday evening on MetroNews. “I want him to succeed. Any red-blooded American should want that. I work more in a bi-partisan way than anyone else.”
Morrisey touted his six years of fighting federal policies primarily under former President Barack Obama, most of them being EPA actions.
Jenkins said the campaign was "the opportunity of a lifetime."
"This has been an incredible opportunity to me and my family to tour not just the 3rd Congressional district I’ve had the honor to represent for the past four years, but to tour all of West Virginia," he said late Tuesday. "It reminds me how special we are as a people, and as a state.”
Blankenship conceded the race, but opted not to call to congratulate Morrisey. He also said doesn't know if he'll support Manchin or Morrisey in the general election.
“It’s not like I’m trying to be mean about it," Blankenship told reporters. "I don’t know of anything positive I would say to him (Morrisey), so I’m being nice about it and not calling him.”
Manchin also discussed the Republican battle to face him in the November election.
“It was a horrific race,” Manchin said. “Lots of money spent from all sides. I thought Patrick would have the edge with his name identification statewide.
“But, I want to talk about the issues. We need to bring jobs back.”