Tag: Patrick Morrisey

Senate Candidates Manchin, Morrisey Agree to Debate

The U.S. Senate campaign of Republican Patrick Morrisey says he has accepted an invitation to debate incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin on Nov. 1.

Morrisey’s campaign says in a news release that the state attorney general has accepted an invitation from the West Virginia Broadcasters Association. Manchin campaign spokesman Grant Herring says Manchin had already accepted the group’s invitation.

A location for the debate has not been announced.

Morrisey’s campaign wants Manchin to agree to at least three debates. Herring says Manchin’s campaign is reviewing the requests.

The election is Nov. 6.

Trump Expected to Announce Power Plant Rule Replacement at W.Va. Rally

President Donald Trump is expected to use a rally in West Virginia Tuesday to roll out a replacement for a major climate regulation that sought to limit carbon pollution.

Trump will be in Charleston campaigning for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Attorney General Patrick  Morrisey. He is also expected to announce his administration’s replacement for the Clean Power Plan.

That Obama-era regulation aimed to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants 32 percent by 2030, relative to 2005 levels in an effort to stem the effects of climate change. The rule took a broad approach and encouraged states to shift electricity generation away from coal toward cleaner natural gas and renewable energy.

The approach sparked legal challenges notably by Morrisey who led a coalition of states in the fight against the rule, effectively getting the U.S. Supreme Court to halt its implementation.

Initial reports indicate the administration’s new proposal is much weaker. Documents reviewed by The New York Times and other news outlets show the Trump administration plans to allow states to decide if and how to curb carbon emissions from power plants.

It is also more narrow. The replacement plan encourages coal plants to boost efficiency by adding automation or replacing worn parts to release fewer carbon dioxide emissions from every ton of coal burned.

James Van Nostrand, a  law professor and director of West Virginia University’s Center for Energy and Sustainable Development, said if it made economic sense for utilities to invest in upgrades to boost power plant efficiency, they would have already done it.

“Spending more money to make them more efficient just makes the price higher that you’ve got to receive in order to make these plants work,” he said.

Environmental advocates argue the new plan may encourage coal plant operators to run them more often and delay their closure, which would release more emissions into the atmosphere.

It remains unclear what impact the regulation overhaul may have on the state’s coal industry.

Van Nostrand said the cheap natural gas and the falling price of renewable energy like wind and solar will continue to drive the decisions utility companies make.

“It’s going to be a great disappointment to a lot of folks in West Virginia that dismantling the EPA and Clean Power Plan is not going to have that much impact,” he said.

A report released last week by West Virginia University’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, showed the recent uptick in coal production will be short-lived. It forecasts production will level out by 2020 and decline precipitously during the next two decades. The short-term decline is expected to be driven largely by a drop in international exports, although continued declining demand for coal-fired electricity is a lesser factor.

Pence Visits West Virginia for Public Event, Fundraiser

Updated on Friday, July 27, 2018 at 11:22 a.m.

Vice President Mike Pence has used a stop in West Virginia to boast about border security, the economy and conservative judges and plug the state’s GOP congressional delegation and lend support to the Republican nominee seeking to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.

Pence criticized Manchin, saying he has opposed President Donald Trump’s initiatives, but said the administration has delivered new jobs and low unemployment anyway.

In video from the event Thursday shown on WOWK-TV’s website, Pence said Manchin’s opponent, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, defends coal miners and energy producers and supports the Second Amendment.

The Intelligencer said the event in Wheeling was sponsored by America First Policies.

Pence was next going to a private fundraiser for Morrisey’s campaign sponsored by Murray Energy CEO and President Robert E. Murray.

Original Post:

Vice President Mike Pence is making a stop in West Virginia to speak at a public event and later attend a private fundraiser.

The Intelligencer in Wheeling said America First Policies is sponsoring the free public event, where Pence is to speak following a panel discussion on the federal tax overhaul. The event is being held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Oglebay Park’s Wilson Lodge in Wheeling.

State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey will speak after the discussion and introduce Gov. Jim Justice. America First Policies spokeswoman Erin Montgomery said Justice will then introduce Pence. Pence also is expected at a private fundraiser for Morrisey’s U.S. Senate campaign sponsored by Murray Energy CEO and President Robert E. Murray.

Donald Trump Jr. to Campaign in W.Va. for Morrisey, as Dad’s Takeover of GOP Continues

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the Republican candidate trying to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in November’s election, is bringing Donald Trump Jr. to the state on Tuesday to rally GOP voters.

Numbers-wise, it makes sense for President Trump to send his son as a proxy to a state campaign. West Virginians voted 69 percent for Trump Jr.’s father in 2016, and there is no state where the president enjoys a higher approval rating.

The larger question is: 500 days into the Trump presidency, is the mainline GOP becoming more like Trump, or is Trump becoming more like the mainline GOP? Or is there a distinction any more?

Trump has never been a true conservative; he is an opportunist. He was a Democrat who switched to Republican who switched to Independent who switched back to Democrat who switched back to Republican. During the 2016 campaign, he ran and won as a protectionist, anti-immigrant populist.

Once elected, and despite historically low public approval ratings, Trump apparently believed his coattails were longer than they actually were and endorsed a reliably mainstream but uninspiring Republican — Luther Strange — in the 2017 Alabama special election to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy left by Jeff Sessions, when Trump appointed him Attorney General.

Alabama Republicans went rogue and rejected Trump, and Strange, and nominated perhaps the 21st-century’s worst major political candidate so far — Roy Moore. As soon as Moore won, Trump deleted earlier tweets endorsing Strange and went all-in for Moore, calling him a “really great guy.” This quick-change endorsement did not sway Alabama voters, who elected Democrat Doug Jones, becoming Alabama’s first Democratic senator in 25 years.

Senate elections in 2017 and 2018 matter greatly for the Republicans, because it looks increasingly likely that Democrats may take control of the House. It is vitally important for Republicans to hold control of the Senate.

As such, the 2018 Senate election in West Virginia is a really big deal.

Manchin entered the Senate in the 2010 special election following the death of Sen. Robert Byrd. Manchin was easily re-elected in 2012 with 60 percent of the vote.

Though he is a Democrat, Manchin looks conservative on many issues, including abortion and gun-control, aligning with the majority of West Virginia voters.

But, on the seating chart of the U.S. Senate, Manchin is a D, and the White House desperately wants an R in that seat.

If the White House learned any lesson from the Alabama debacle, it is: Eliminate the nut job first. If Trump had campaigned actively against Moore in addition to backing Strange, a Republican might be in that Senate seat today.

So, in West Virginia, rather than actively picking either Morrisey or his Republican primary challenger, Rep. Evan Jenkins, Trump targeted former convict/former coal baron Don Blankenship, even though he styled himself as “Trumpier than Trump.”

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

Whether due to Trump’s tweet or Blankenship’s toxic campaign, Blankenship finished third and Morrisey, a traditional Republican, won.

Now, Trump is all-in for Morrisey, and is sending son Don Jr. to appear at a press conference with Morrisey on Tuesday at the West Virginia GOP headquarters in Charleston.

Morrisey is surely happy to receive a sprinkling of Trump fairy dust over his campaign in one of the states where it may actually be beneficial. But he is unlikely to restyle himself into the kind of raging populist Trump was during the 2016 campaign, where he channeled dangerous demagogues like Huey Long.

Yet he may not have to. Trump has so co-opted the GOP that it no longer resembles the party of Goldwater, Reagan or either Bush. Trump has run up the national debt, governed as a mercantilist — not a free-trader — on international trade, exited multiple international accords that conservatives backed as a way of showing American global leadership and has remained anti-immigrant, shutting down the path to the American dream that conservatives have extolled.

At the 500-day mark of his presidency, writes Axios: “Trump’s hijacking of the formerly conservative GOP is complete — an astonishing accomplishment. The majority party in America is fully defined by his policies, his popularity with the base, his facts-be-damned mentality, his ability to control and quiet virtually all Republican elected officials.”

Gallup reports that Trump’s own-party approval rating at the 500-day mark of his presidency is 87 percent, second-highest in history behind only George W. Bush.

Republicans all over the country have fallen in line behind Trump, despite his many obvious personal shortcomings and lack of interest in policy or much of anything else besides Trump.

Will Don Jr.’s presence on Tuesday be enough for Morrisey to push him over the top against Manchin? Wherever you are, it’s always tough to beat an incumbent and Manchin has been a successful senator for West Virginia. A recent Democratic poll shows Manchin with a 12-point lead over Morrisey, reports Politico.

But is that edge based on Manchin’s record? No, writes Politico. It’s Because Manchin has been successful in portraying himself as a Democratic ally of Trump.

Which means: Regardless of whether Morrisey or Manchin wins in November, Trump wins.

Frank Ahrens, a West Virginia native and WVU graduate, is a public relations executive in Washington D.C. He was a Washington Post journalist for 18 years and is the author of “Seoul Man: A Memoir of Cars, Culture, Crisis, and Unexpected Hilarity Inside a Korean Corporate Titan.” Contact him at www.frankahrens.com.

On Twitter, Trump Urges West Virginians to Reject Blankenship in GOP U.S. Senate Primary

Updated: Monday, May 7, 2018 at 9:42 a.m.

Just a day before West Virginia’s primary election, President Donald Trump has weighed in on the GOP Primary. With Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship gaining widespread attention in the lead-up to Tuesday, Trump tweeted early Monday morning — urging West Virginians to vote against the coal baron. Monday marks the first occasion the president has publicly spoken for or against any candidate in the race.

“To the great people of West Virginia we have, together, a really great chance to keep making a big difference. Problem is, Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can’t win the General Election in your State…No way!” Trump wrote on the social media platform.

The Republican president maintains a strong approval rating in West Virginia at 61 points, according to March polling from Morning Consult. He won the state in the 2016 election by 42 percentage points.

He also referenced the failed U.S. Senate bid of Roy Moore in a December Alabama special election. “Remember Alabama,” the president said. Trump supported Moore, who was accused of sexual assault against children, in the race against Democrat Doug Jones.

Trump encouraged West Virginia voters to support either Congressman Evan Jenkins or state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey over Blankenship. All six of the candidates in the West Virginia GOP primary for U.S. Senate have attempted to align themselves with the president, who are hoping to take on U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin in November. Manchin faces his own primary challenger Tuesday in progressive newcomer Paula Jean Swearengin.

Blankenship served one year in prison for conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards, a misdemeanor. He finishes a year of supervised release Wednesday, the day after the election. 

In a written statement, Blankenship addressed Trump’s tweet:

“The President is a very busy man and he doesn’t know me, and he doesn’t know how flawed my two main opponents are in this primary,” Blankenship said. “The establishment is misinforming him because they do not want me to be in the U.S. Senate and promote the President’s agenda.”

Blankenship argued that neither Jenkins or Morrisey could beat Manchin without his support, but he would prevail over the Democratic stalwart “even without the support of the establishment.”

“West Virginia voters should remember that my enemies are Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and my opponents would not even be running as Republicans had I not resurrected the Republican Party in West Virginia,” Blankenship added. 

In early April, Trump appeared in White Sulphur Springs for an event billed as a roundtable discussion on tax reform, although the event was campaign-like fashion. He spent much of the event taking aim at Manchin while being flanked on either side by Jenkins and Morrisey.

He explicitly referenced the race at the end of the event, as he asked the audience to cheer for Jenkins or Morrisey in a demonstration of how the crowd planned to vote in the upcoming GOP senate primary.

“Patrick and Evan, good luck. I don’t know, you two. Good luck,” Trump said in White Sulphur Springs.

Polls open Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.

 

Two Days Before Election Day, Morrisey Calls Out Blankenship for 'Ongoing' Legal Issues

 

Updated: May 6, 2018 at 8:20 p.m.

One GOP candidate for U.S. Senate in West Virginia says one of his opponents should be ineligible for Tuesday’s primary.

With former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship seeming to gain momentum as Election Day nears, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey held a news conference Sunday to announce that he’s informing the former coal baron’s probation officer about illegal activity — in April the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported Blankenship failed to file a financial disclosure with the Senate.

“There are six candidates in this race. Five of us have obeyed the law. Don Blankenship is not above the law,” Morrisey said of Blankenship’s failure to file the disclosure.

Morrisey added that his campaign was contacting Blankenship’s probation officer “to determine if this refusal to comply with federal law violates the terms of the supervised release” under the Ethics in Government Act. That law calls for U.S. Senate candidates to file the financial disclosure.

Blankenship spent a year in prison for violating federal mine safety standards following the Upper Big Branch explosion in 2010. The blast killed 29 men at the mine in Montcoal, West Virginia. Following his release from prison in May 2017, the former coal company executive had his residency moved to Nevada. He finishes a year of supervised release Wednesday, the day after the election.

“Don Blankenship is not the man who can beat me. We need a conservative fighter to take on Joe Manchin — not a convicted criminal with massive ongoing legal problems,” said Morrisey, referring to the Democratic incumbent and likely matchup in November for whomever wins the Republican nomination Tuesday.

According to Blankenship’s original sentencing order from April 2016, the terms of his supervised release state that he “must not commit another federal, state, or local crime” among other conditions.

The website of the U.S. Senate’s Select Committee on Ethics says financial disclosures filed more than 30 days after the due date “shall subject the filer to a mandatory $200 penalty.” A section on that same website titled ‘non-compliance penalty’ says that the law authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to seek a civil penalty of up to $50,000 against anyone who “knowingly and willfully falsifies or fails to file or to report any required information,” in addition to other action called for by the committee.  “Moreover, anyone who knowingly and willfully falsifies or conceals any material fact in a statement to the Government may be subject to fines, criminal prosecution, and sentencing,” the website also states.

“I don’t personally think anybody should have to disclose private information,” Blankenship recently told the New York Times in an interview.

Asked by a reporter during Sunday’s press conference why he didn’t take the opportunity to address these issues in a series of debates during the past few weeks, Morrisey indicated he didn’t think Blankenship’s candidacy would have such an impact on the race.

“To be honest, I thought that West Virginians would see through the candidacy of Don Blankenship even more. And it’s apparent over the last couple days — as he’s been moving up, getting very close in the polls — I think it’s in the public interest to be able to talk about this information,” Morrisey said.

Greg Thomas, a spokesperson for Blankenship, said Morrisey is “desperate” and “grasping at straws.” He added that Blankenship has already alerted proper authorities he would be filing the disclosure late as a result of his complicated finances.

Through mailers, ads and other campaign materials, Blankenship has attacked Morrisey as well as Congressman Evan Jenkins, who is also vying for the Republican nomination for the seat. Jenkins rounds out the top three front-runners in the six-man GOP primary, which will be held Tuesday, May 8.

Well-funded Republicans have attacked Blankenship through the Mountain Families PAC. However, the Democrat-funded Duty and Country PAC has gone after Morrisey and Jenkins — seemingly in an attempt to place Blankenship in what they see as a can’t-win race against Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin.

 

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