Trump candidate wins in W. Virginia, falls in Neb.
WASHINGTON – A Donald Trumpbacked House Republican defeated a GOP colleague in a heated West Virginia congressional primary Tuesday, an intraparty battle that focused on Trump and on Republican opposition to President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill.
Victorious U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, RW.VA., who played up his endorsement by Trump throughout the campaign, also attacked fellow Rep. David Mckinley for his support of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package opposed by most Republican lawmakers.
“West Virginia deserves a true conservative in Congress,” Mooney said before a telephone town hall with Trump last week.
The race represented a clear win for a Trumpstyle Republican over a GOP lawmaker known for bipartisan outreach, and again underscored the potential strength of an endorsement from the ex-president.
The Associated Press called the race for Mooney about two hours after West Virginia polls closed.
“Donald Trump loves West Virginia and West Virginia loves Donald Trump,” Mooney told supporters at his victory party. He said the voters spoke “loud and clear” in rejecting the Biden agenda and thanked Mckinley for his “years of service.”
The two GOP congressmen faced off in a new district created because the state's population loss caused West Virginia to lose one of its previous three U.S. House seats.
Trump endorsed Mooney back in November, citing Mckinley's vote against the “horrendous” infrastructure bill and his opposition to creation of a special committee to investigate the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.
Mckinley, a civil engineer, has said he voted for the infrastructure bill because too many of the state's roads and bridges have not repaired for more than 50 years.
“We needed it,” he said at one point during the campaign.
In radio ads played across West Virginia, Trump blasted Mckinley as a RINO – “Republican In Name Only” – for backing an infrastructure bill that “wasted hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Trump and Mooney also criticized Mckinley for at one point supporting a plan to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the pro-trump insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.
While Trump backed Mooney, another prominent West Virginia Republican – Gov. Jim Justice – backed Mckinley, saying the infrastructure bill is helping the state. Mckinley also called on help from a local Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin.
In Nebraska, Republican voters picked Jim Pillen as their nominee for governor, siding with the University of Nebraska regent backed by the state's outgoing governor over a rival supported by Trump and accused of groping multiple women.
Herbster's loss raises the stakes on other high-profile races this month in Pennsylvania and Georgia, where Trump has also intervened in campaigns.
The allegations against Herbster didn't stop the former president from holding a rally with him earlier this month.
“I really think he's going to do just a fantastic job, and if I didn't feel that, I wouldn't be here,” Trump said.
In this Republican stronghold, Pillen will be a favorite in November's general election against his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Carol Blood. Nebraska hasn't elected a Democrat as governor since 1994.
Pillen was endorsed by many top GOP leaders in the state, renowned former University of Nebraska football coach and congressman Tom Osborne.
Contributing: Associated Press