It appears the media has not learned its lesson from supporting Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries.
Last night, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey easily won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Joe Manchin. But over the past few weeks — and especially the past few days — the candidate we’ve heard the most about has been Don Blankenship, a former business executive turned convicted felon who was easily defeated by a landslide.
Perhaps that’s not entirely surprising. Blankenship’s story seemed like a gold medal, as he ran for office three years after being found guilty of conspiring to intentionally violate mine health and safety standards in an explosion that killed 29 miners — and just a year after being released from prison. If he wins the Republican nomination, his quixotic candidacy would be a gift to incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in the November election.
To add fuel to the media fire, Blankenship mentioned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Asian Father-in-Law as “Chinaman”.
Indeed, the fact that voters openly admitted that Blankenship was a fraud was certainly noteworthy:
West Virginia voter who says he lost three cousins in Don Blankenship-linked mining disaster says @TomLlamasABC Either way, he votes for the coal baron.
“I want an honest conman and that’s Blankenship.” https://t.co/6CmPQXqK2u photo:twitter.com/jeWQUUZ5hI
— ABC News (@ABC) May 8, 2018
But Blankenship lost last night. And not only did he lose, he was soundly rejected by the voters. Four out of five West Virginia Republicans voted for someone else.
More than half of precincts reported Morrisey leading in West Virginia’s GOP Senate race. Follow live results here: https://t.co/JbnBSeJ6YE photo: twitter.com/vQiBX0ykMp
— POLITICO (@politico) May 9, 2018
But based on media coverage, you might think he was the clear favorite — or at least a contender.
Republicans are leaving.
White House official: ‘Don Blankenship’s win in this district dramatically reduces our chances of winning in November.’
Agent McConnell-world: “If Don Blankenship Wins Primary, Joe Manchin Will Run for Re-election in November”https://t.co/XDHgKgZxPB
— Dan America (@merica) May 8, 2018
Republican candidate Don Blankenship is gaining traction in the lead-up to the West Virginia primary despite racist ads and a guilty verdict in the deaths of 29 coal miners. https://t.co/nChhflrEuh photo:twitter.com/80DZFGFSn3
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) May 6, 2018
“Don Blankenship is a member of the Republican Party” https://t.co/yfPLIY9BfK photo:twitter.com/HTzFvMLtdo
— The Hill (@thehill) April 6, 2018
This left many conservatives wondering why so much attention was paid to Blankenship.
Blankenship looks set to finish third in the primary despite the media’s inexcusable focus on him and complete forgetting of his opponents.
How do you explain the fact that most newspaper reporters in West Virginia are covering the third-place finisher in the primary? https://t.co/DjEXU2DYgr
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) May 9, 2018
Why is CNN even interviewing the guy who finished third, let alone asking him if he plans to run as an independent?
— BT (@back_ttys) May 9, 2018
To be fair, the responsibility for voting always rests with the voters, and the voters’ choice is theirs alone. You can’t blame the media for that. To the voters’ credit, West Virginia voters chose someone else last night.
Nevertheless, it is frustrating that some in the media choose to elevate the worst members of the Republican Party, giving them unwarranted and undeserved attention and airtime. This plot last night AND Today still applies to the person who didn’t win, not Patrick Morrissey, who will face Joe Manchin in November.
However, Blankenship’s defeat raises many questions that both the media and members of the Republican Party must ask themselves.
Recent polls that show Blankenship up. Where do these polls come from? Who conducted the polls?
Why was so much attention paid to a candidate who suffered such a devastating defeat yesterday?
Why do so many people, like Blankenship, want to run as Republicans, and should they be able to do so?
The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not represent the views of any other person or entity. Follow Sarah on Twitter: @sarahmquinlan.
