Don Blankenship in 2018 WV Senate race
On Principles & Values:
I'm Trumpier than Trump, despite Trump opposition
President Trump took to Twitter to tell West Virginia Republicans not to support Blankenship. 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!"Blankenship reacted to Trump's Twitter criticism by issuing a written statement of response. "West
he doesn't know me and he doesn't know how flawed my two main opponents are in this primary. The establishment is misinforming him because they do not want me to be in the U.S. Senate and promote the President's agenda."
Source: NPR on 2018 West Virginia Senate race
May 8, 2018
On Foreign Policy:
Soft on China if one is related to a "Chinaperson"
Don Blankenship, running for Senate in West Virginia, this week accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of having conflicts of interest in foreign relations because his father-in-law is "a wealthy Chinaperson."Blankenship, one of three GOP
leading candidates in the May 8 primary to take on Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in this year's midterm elections, brought up McConnell's marriage to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a radio interview. He said that McConnell's marriage raises "the
potential for conflict of interest" in Trump's trade war with China.
"I have an issue when the father-in-law is a wealthy Chinaperson and there's a lot of connections to some of the brass, if you will, in China," Blankenship said. "I read in books
that people think he's soft on China," he added.
Chao's father, James Chao, was born in China but moved to the US when Elaine was 8 years old from Taiwan.
McConnell's staff tweeted, "This candidate is as contemptible a human being as you will find."
Source: CNN.com on 2018 West Virginia Senate race
Apr 25, 2018
On Foreign Policy:
Double headline - Already Done
Blankenship accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of having conflicts of interest in foreign relations because his father-in-law is "a wealthy Chinaperson." McConnell is married to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who immigrated from
Taiwan at age 8.Blankenship's own fiancee, Farrah Meiling Hobbs, was born in China and moved to the US in 1996
During Blankenship's trial [for corporate poisoning of a water supply from his coal mines], in an interview recorded in 2009,
Blankenship said he was considering moving to China, calling the country's "dictatorial capitalism" "very effective" and saying he'd opened a bank account there.
"I'm actually considering moving to China or somewhere and being more like George Washington if I can get citizenship," he said in the 2009 interview. "I can probably get citizenship in India. I'd rather be in China."
Source: CNN.com on 2018 West Virginia Senate race
Apr 25, 2018
On Environment:
AdWatch: Year in prison for contaminating drinking water
The "Mountain Families PAC" targets Republican Senate hopeful Don Blankenship. The Republican establishment has launched an emergency intervention in the primary aimed at stopping coal baron Don Blankenship from winning the party's nomination.
Last week, the newly-formed super PAC began airing TV ads targeting Blankenship, who spent one year behind bars following a deadly 2010 explosion at his Upper Big Branch Mine. The national party isn't promoting its role in the group but its fingerprints
are all over it.
The 30-second commercials, which the group is spending nearly $700,000 to air, accuse Blankenship's company of contaminating drinking water by pumping "toxic coal slurry," even as the multimillionaire installed a piping system that
pumped clean water to his mansion. "Isn't there enough toxic sludge in Washington?" the narrator intones.
Blankenship last month issued a statement saying he was well aware of the possibility that party leadership could target him.
Source: Politico.com AdWatch on 2018 West Virginia Senate race
Apr 15, 2018
On Crime:
Past criminal conviction not a barrier to running for office
In 2010 an explosion at a coal mine operated by Massey Energy killed 29 men. In 2015 Don Blankenship, the former C.E.O., was sent to prison for conspiring to violate mine safety standards. Blankenship is one of 4 Republicans with criminal convictions
running for office this year, several of whom may well win their party's nominations. There is a much broader list of Republican politicians facing credible accusations of huge ethical lapses who nonetheless emerged victorious in G.O.P. primaries.
Source: N.Y. Times on 2018 West Virginia Senatorial race
Mar 26, 2018
On Abortion:
AdWatch: Positions himself as anti-abortion and pro-Trump
Blankenship has used the ads to paint his rivals as insufficiently conservative, blasting [GOP primary opponent Evan] Jenkins over his positions on ObamaCare and climate change and [GOP primary opponent Patrick] Morrisey on abortion.
He's positioned himself as an unshakable ally of President Donald Trump, who received 68 percent of the vote in the state.
Source: Politico.com AdWatch on 2018 West Virginia Senatorial race
Mar 20, 2018
On Drugs:
Mandatory drug testing for all teachers
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Blankenship suggested drug tests for West Virginia teachers during a town hall. "I think West Virginia teachers are underpaid, and I don't want to get in trouble with teachers, but there are also a lot of teachers
who underperform," said Blankenship "That's what a business would do," he said. "The first thing they would do is make sure the people that are teaching their children are drug free and that they are capable of doing the job."
Source: TheDAOnline.com on 2018 West Virginia Senatorial race
Mar 2, 2018
On Education:
Teachers should be graded and denied raises if sub-standard
Blankenship said another step to bettering West Virginia education was to grade teachers on an A to F scale. "Just like they give our kids," he said. These teachers would be graded on aptitude tests taken by their students, according to Blankenship.
Teachers with better teaching results would become trainers and get bonuses, while those who receive poor results would be demoted or discharged. "They would be denied raises just like they would be in a company," Blankenship said.
Source: TheDAOnline.com on 2018 West Virginia Senatorial race
Mar 2, 2018
On Budget & Economy:
Republican control will eventually improve state economy
"It has never been my goal to be a politician," he said to the crowd. "But I do know how important it is to improve our economy and grow our job market. I understand the pain that lack of jobs causes." Blankenship told reporters WV's change from being
controlled by Democrats to Republicans has made the state better for businesses, though the results have not been seen yet. "The thing now is to make sure that they know federal representatives are also in favor of business development," he said.
Source: W.V. MetroNews on 2018 West Virginia Senatorial race
Jan 18, 2018
On Tax Reform:
Stands behind Trump's agenda including the tax reform bill
Blankenship spoke about multiple political issues--from illegal immigration to tax reform--but all of his points went back to supporting President Donald Trump's agenda.
This included building a wall on the United States' southern border to passing tax legislation.
Source: W.V. MetroNews on 2018 West Virginia Senatorial race
Jan 18, 2018
On Environment:
EPA is biggest polluter,moving jobs to unregulated countries
Don Blankenship said the Environmental Protection Agency has become "the biggest polluter in the world" by forcing U.S. jobs to carbon-spewing countries like China. "When you look at Trump's margin [of victory] and look at the fact that
I advocated his policies before he advocated his policies--I've long believed that trade policies are unfair and that regulations are stifling," the former coal titan said last week in an interview.
Source: Washington Times on 2018 West Virginia Senatorial race
Jan 1, 2018
On Government Reform:
Media & Republicans conspired to defame me
My attorneys filed a lawsuit against Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and others. The lawsuit is a defamation claim. The suit makes clear that the purpose of Fox and other major media outlets defaming me was to
impact the outcome of the May 2018 Republican Primary Election in West Virginia. The purposeful and illegal defamation was carried out as a result of collusion with and encouragement from Republican government officials.
Source: Constitution Party on 2018 West Virginia Senate race
Jan 1, 2018
On Environment:
AdWatch: role of MSHA in mine disaster was covered up
Blankenship produced an ad that said the Obama administration's internal review of the Mine Safety and Health Administration's role in a deadly mine explosion was "fixed." The ad said the government's own documents revealed "Obama's deadliest cover-up."
Blankenship's spokesman claimed to have emails that proved the point, but said they would not share them.An extensive review of multiple government reports, plus a search through a database of thousands of news articles produced no supporting facts.
Source: Politifact AdWatch on 2016-2018 West Virginia Senate race
Dec 11, 2017
Page last updated: Jan 03, 2020