Seriousness wins

Blankenship’s defeat in W.Va. is a good sign

Don Blankenship’s loss Tuesday, in the West Virginia Republican primary for a U.S. Senate nomination, was good for the Mountain State and for the politics of the nation.

Mr. Blankenship lost to West Virginia Attorney General, Patrick Morrisey, who will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in the November election.

His loss proves that voters are usually not stupid and that they value some modicum of seriousness about politics and public policy.

Although Mr. Blankenship portrayed himself as a Donald Trump-like anti-establishment figure who would tell it like it is and kick Washington into shape, voters saw him for what he is — a disgraced businessman and convicted criminal.

In 2016, Mr. Blankenship was sentenced to a year in federal prison for safety violations at the Upper Big Branch mine, where an explosion killed 29 workers in 2010. To this day, he remains unrepentant.

During the campaign, he called his conviction a “badge of honor” and continued to blame the explosion — the worst U.S. mining disaster since the 1970s — on lapses by Obama-era regulators.

Short on workable ideas, Mr. Blankenship tried to fill the gaps with bombast, crazy conspiracy theories and xenophobic innuendo.

Mr. Blankenship, inexplicably and scurrilously, assailed Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell during the campaign, calling him “Cocaine Mitch,” and alluding to his “China family.” Mr. McConnell’s wife is Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

How Mr. Blankenship thought he would have accomplished anything for West Virginia after attacking his party’s Senate leadership is anyone’s guess.

Mr. Blankenship claimed to be “Trumpier than Trump” because of his outsider status. But the president actually disavowed him, warning Republican voters that nominating him would boost Mr. Manchin’s re-election chances. Coming from Mr. Trump, who won West Virginia handily two years ago, the warning had an impact.

Mr. Trump won his nomination, and the presidency, by showing concern for people and communities neglected by the prevailing political establishment. Mr. Blankenship’s record evinces the opposite — a grave disregard for others.

The people of West Virginia had little hope of benefiting from the public service of this clown prince who put his employees in harm’s way, and the voters showed they knew it.

But now what? Because Mr. Blankenship is out of the picture, it does not follow that life will improve for West Virginians.

The race will continue to receive national attention. Mr. Manchin is a Democrat in a blue state that’s turned mostly red, and Republicans have only a one-seat majority in the Senate. That makes the seat critical for both parties.

Voters, many of whom live in communities wracked by poverty and opioids, should exploit this opportunity. They should insist that both Mr. Manchin and Mr. Morrisey come up with specific, practical programs for job creation and addiction treatment in West Virginia, and ways to pay for it.

Seriousness won in West Virginia this week. The next battle is for accomplishment and progress.