# The candidacy of Don Blankenship (US Senate - WV) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 7, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764 "2018-05-07T15:52:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/1 "2018-05-07T15:52:22Z")
I could write a lot (more) but am short on time, so here are the highlights: Blankenship is a former coal mining operation owner who was convicted of conspiring to hide safety violations - violations which likely led to the deaths of 29 coal workers as a result of an explosion at one of the facilities his company operated. He ended up being convicted and served time in federal prison. Around this time he was once regarded as the most hated man in West Virginia. Fast forward to now, he’s dangerously close to leading in a race for the Republican nomination in the United States Senate race against Democratic incumbent, Joe Manchin. His campaign has been predictably toxic, including recent campaign ads in which he referred to Mitch McConnell as “cocaine Mitch” and appeared to take a dig at his wife’s race by referring to Mitch’s “China family.” And then there was this exchange on twitter this morning. The Donald on Twitter wrote: > [@](#): > > 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! To which Blankenship replied at a town hall event: > [@](#): > > We all really like President Trump’s policies and we know that he doesn’t get everything right. He recommended that people vote for a guy that was basically accused of pedophilia in Alabama Holy Christ, this guy’s a dick. Not that he’s wrong about Trump’s support of Roy Moore - he has a point there. But this guy is just as nasty as they get, and yet it seems like a lot of poor, angry people in West Virginia want mean and nasty, and lots of it. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/2 "2018-05-07T16:51:18Z")
How the heck can a guy who’s responsible for those coal miner deaths get such traction in West Virginia? Is he really running ahead in coal mining areas? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/3 "2018-05-07T17:30:36Z")
He’s gonna save us from the China People. You know, like that one who is married to Mitch McConnell. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/4 "2018-05-07T17:42:20Z")
Just more of the Trumpification (and Roy-Moore-ification, and maybe soon the Blankenshipification) of the Republican party. This is the future of the party, at least for the short and medium term, I think. There is a significant minority of the country that wants open xenophobes, racists, and/or misogynists in elected office. Maybe large enough to dominate the party. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/5 "2018-05-07T17:59:24Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > He’s gonna save us from the China People. You know, like that one who is married to Mitch McConnell. [But he says he’s okay with the Negro people.](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/don-blankenship-uses-negro-in-race-discussion-after-china-person-ad.html) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/6 "2018-05-07T18:02:23Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > How the heck can a guy who’s responsible for those coal miner deaths get such traction in West Virginia? Other candidates just talk about creating new jobs in the mines. Blankenship is actually doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/7 "2018-05-07T18:02:35Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > How the heck can a guy who’s responsible for those coal miner deaths get such traction in West Virginia? Is he really running ahead in coal mining areas? It’s Abusive Boyfriend Syndrome. He’s promising – even more so than Donald and bragging that he’s “more Trump than Trump” – to bring back coal mining jobs. And the way to do that is with less regulation of and tax breaks for the mines. So you’ll have a job, it’s just that your chances of getting killed while doing it will be going up. Nobody understands West Virginia voters quite like coal mine executives. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/8 "2018-05-07T18:15:27Z")
It would be nice if they sabotaged another deep red seat. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/9 "2018-05-07T19:10:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Other candidates just talk about creating new jobs in the mines. Blankenship is actually doing it. [The Onion beat you to it.](https://politics.theonion.com/new-don-blankenship-campaign-ad-touts-jobs-created-in-w-1825779639) > [@](#): > > “From trauma specialists and morticians all the way down to the manufacturers of vigil candles, gravestones, and sympathy cards, I’m committed to putting West Virginians to work. I’ve even created 29 new coal mining jobs. Can Mitch McConnell say the same?” ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/10 "2018-05-07T20:54:33Z")
DC mayor Marion “the bitch set me up” Barry went to prison for doing coke and when he got out he was re-elected Mayor. Prison time does not mean much to some people. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/11 "2018-05-07T21:20:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > He’s gonna save us from the China People. You know, like that one who is married to Mitch McConnell. I try to understand the type of voters he’s appealing to, I really do, but I just can’t wrap my mind around their mindset. Don’t they realize that they’re a lot more likely to be harmed by people like Blankenship than by China People? If I had to guess, I would guess that fewer than 29 West Virginians have been killed by “China People” in the last 10 years. Yet the Blankenship voters seem to be more afraid of the “China People” than they are of Blankenship. I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/12 "2018-05-07T21:25:51Z")
Not even remotely the same though, right? Personal drug use versus contributing to the death of 29 miners? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/13 "2018-05-07T23:04:55Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > Not even remotely the same though, right? Personal drug use versus contributing to the death of 29 miners? Barry did 6 months in prison and Blankenship did a year so their sentences were not that much different . ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/14 "2018-05-07T23:55:01Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > How the heck can a guy who’s responsible for those coal miner deaths get such traction in West Virginia? Is he really running ahead in coal mining areas? He’s been saying that he was railroaded by an Obama prosecutor and an Obama judge. In other words, playing the “wealthy white victim” card, and playing into the culture wars. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/15 "2018-05-08T00:46:18Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Fast forward to now, he’s dangerously close to leading in a race for the Republican nomination in the United States Senate race against Democratic incumbent, Joe Manchin. Ooooh, dangerously close to leading. Sounds dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/16 "2018-05-08T01:17:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [But he says he’s okay with the Negro people.](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/don-blankenship-uses-negro-in-race-discussion-after-china-person-ad.html) \It took me twenty five years to get him to say “Negro.”\ ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/17 "2018-05-08T01:23:46Z")
His creepy ad reminds me of the old Junior Samples car dealer ads on Hee Haw. I wish him the best of luck tomorrow and hope the I am not a witch Christine O’Donnell makes another go at it somewhere too. Oh, and there are a few states Scott Brown hasn’t lost in yet, he should make a run somewhere too. And let’s get Sharron Angle back in the action as well. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/18 "2018-05-08T03:38:16Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > He’s been saying that he was railroaded by an Obama prosecutor and an Obama judge. In other words, playing the “wealthy white victim” card, and playing into the culture wars. He also says the federal government was responsible for the coal mine explosion, though I have yet to hear an explanation of that claim. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/19 "2018-05-08T03:56:25Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I wish him the best of luck tomorrow and hope the I am not a witch Christine O’Donnell makes another go at it somewhere too. Oh, and there are a few states Scott Brown hasn’t lost in yet, he should make a run somewhere too. And let’s get Sharron Angle back in the action as well. Yes “I hope they nominate X, because he/she can’t possibly win the actual election” is something we can absolutely say without getting a bad feeling. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764/20 "2018-05-08T04:47:21Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > He’s been saying that he was railroaded by an Obama prosecutor and an Obama judge. In other words, playing the “wealthy white victim” card, and playing into the culture wars. AKA “The bitch set me up!” for white folk [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-candidacy-of-don-blankenship-us-senate-wv/813764.md?page=2)