Stakes high for GOP in primaries

Republicans wary after failed race in Alabama

WASHINGTON – One candidate is on supervised release from prison and has drawn explicit opposition from President Trump. Two came under fire over decades-old alcohol-related incidents. And others have faced what may be an unthinkable charge in a primary — that they previously aligned with the other party.

They are among the cast of candidates on ballots Tuesday as primary voters head to the polls in West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and North Carolina, all states Trump won in the 2016 presidential election.

Much is at stake for Republicans hoping to expand their narrow, 51-seat Senate majority in November’s general elections. That’s especially the case in West Virginia, where Trump and other Republicans are panicking over GOP Senate candidate and former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, who was convicted of a misdemeanor related to a mine explosion that killed 29 men.

Republicans fear a candidate with Blankenship’s baggage could sink their chances against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, their likely opponent in the general election. The GOP is haunted by Alabama’s special election in December, when GOP candidate Roy Moore cost them a Senate seat after allegations emerged that he sexually abused several teenagers.

“Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can’t win the General Election in your State... No way! Remember Alabama,” Trump tweeted, urging voters to cast their ballots for Blankenship’s main opponents, Rep. Evan Jenkins or state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

Republicans see pickup opportunities in West Virginia and Indiana, where Manchin and Sen. Joe Donnelly, respectively, are among the most vulnerable Democratic senators. The Indiana GOP Senate primary has drawn national attention as Republicans’ nastiest primary, with candidates attacking each other personally.

In both states’ GOP Senate primaries, the candidates are fighting over who is the most conservative and like Trump.

The non-partisan Cook Political Report rates West Virginia’s and Indiana’s Senate races “tossups,” while Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown’s race in Ohio is competitive but leaning in his favor. Here’s a closer look:

West Virginia

Jenkins, a former Democrat turned Republican, led the most recent Fox News poll in this state’s GOP Senate primary, with Morrisey, the state’s attorney general, only 4 percentage points behind. But if the self-funded Blankenship were to pull off a come-from-behind victory, expect Republicans to collectively lose their minds.

Blankenship served a one-year sentence for conspiring to violate mine health and safety standards. His sentence ended in May 2017, and his period of supervised release ends Wednesday, the day after the primary, according to court records.

Before Trump’s tweet, his son Donald Trump Jr. called Blankenship a “train wreck” and tweeted similar sentiments about the race.

“No more fumbles like Alabama,” he tweeted. “We need to win in November.”

Blankenship, responding to the president’s tweet, said in a statement that the “establishment is misinforming” the president.

Indiana

The three GOP Senate candidates vying to replace the unopposed Donnelly all share an alma mater and similar conservative policy positions — and that may be part of the reason this primary is so nasty.

GOP Reps. Luke Messer and Todd Rokita have been rivals since Wabash College and they, along with former state representative Mike Braun, have been eager to distinguish themselves and tear their opponents down.

They all love Trump — and Donnelly is using their unqualified support of Trump to raise money.

Trump and Vice President Pence have a campaign event in Indiana Thursday, a sign of the attention they will give the Senate race.

Ohio

Rep. Jim Renacci is considered the front-runner in the GOP primary for the Senate nomination, battling Clevelandarea investment banker Michael Gibbons.

Trump endorsed Renacci via Twitter, even though Gibbons co-chaired Trump’s fundraising efforts in Ohio.

Brown is running unopposed.

North Carolina

Primaries in North Carolina, which has no Senate race this year, are sleepier.

GOP Rep. Walter Jones hopes to retain his seat. But the 12-term incumbent faces two primary opponents, Craven County Commissioner Scott Dacey and Phil Law, a former Marine. No Democrats have filed to run.

Another primary between GOP Rep. Robert Pittenger and Mark Harris, pastor of First Baptist Church of Charlotte, marks a rematch from 2016, when Pittenger won by just 134 votes.

All of the state’s 13 House incumbents are running for re-election, and most seats are not expected to flip.

“Don Blankenship can’t win ... in your State ... No way!”

President Trump in a tweet about the West Virginia GOP primary for U.S. Senate

SCOTT MCCLOSKEY/AP Senate candidate Don Blankenship, left, has drawn high-profile opposition in the Republican primary in West Virginia. A former coal executive who served a misdemeanor jail term after a deadly explosion, Blankenship “can’t win the General Election in...