Don Blankenship, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate issued the following statement in response to D.C. chatter regarding possible D.C. establishment opposition to his candidacy.
There has been an awful lot of talk lately about who the Washington, D.C. Establishment and Mitch McConnell, in particular, are supporting in West Virginia’s U.S. Senate race. Let me be clear, I don’t care who they are supporting. I know that it is not me, because we recognize that those defending the swamp do not want Republican Senators who want to drain the swamp.
We are aware that Mitch McConnell has not been a supporter of my fight for West Virginians and that he may choose to support his fellow career politicians.
The bigger question is why my opponents are begging for the support of special interests, the D.C. establishment, and even from out of state dark money groups. West Virginians have a right to choose their own Senator and interference in that right is yet another reason why we need term limits. Lifers in D.C. think they have a right to meddle in a vital part of what makes America great—the right to vote for the person an individual chooses.
Unlike Patrick Morrisey, I have not and I will not take any contributions from big drug companies or lobbyists for Planned Parenthood. And unlike Evan Jenkins, I am not beholden to any D.C. career politician. I am not for sale.
I will represent West Virginians. Unlike Joe Manchin, who will not stand without Chuck Schumer’s permission, I will stand without McConnell’s permission even if it means the establishment will lie in order to put me in prison again for another made up misdemeanor.