US President opposes Senate candidate who’s ‘Trumpier than Trump’

WASHINGTON: West Virginia Republican voters will decide yesterday if they want an ex-con coal baron as their US senator, even though President Donald Trump himself has warned the candidate is too radical to prevail in November’s mid-term elections.

Proclaiming himself “Trumpier than Trump” on Monday, Don Blankenship has mounted a highly controversial campaign ahead of Tuesday’s primary in the heart of Trump country.

His strong performance as a fearless outsider has spooked Republicans already bracing for losses as they struggle to maintain control of Congress in a deeply divisive campaign landscape.

Blankenship – a former coal executive who spent a year in prison over safety lapses linked to an explosion at his mine that killed 29 miners – has peddled conspiracy theories about government action causing the accident, used racially charged campaign rhetoric, and coined incendiary, Trump-like nicknames for his opponents.

On Monday, Trump used his Twitter bully pulpit to urge “the good people of West Virginia” to reject Blankenship and instead pick either congressman Evan Jenkins or state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, both Republicans.

“Problem is, Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can’t win the General Election in your State...No way!” Trump wrote. “Remember Alabama.”

December’s Senate election in conservative Alabama proved disastrous for Republicans, when Roy Moore, who was endorsed by Trump despite accusations he once molested underage girls, lost to a Democrat.

Moore was among a handful of extreme candidates in recent years who have won the Republican nomination only to eventually lose their Senate elections.

But the anti-establishment fervor unleashed by Trump’s spectacular 2016 election win has proven hard to control.

Two sets of recent internal campaign polling show Blankenship surging into the lead against his two main Republican rivals, the Weekly Standard reported, although primary polling can be unreliable.