President Donald Trump took to Twitter early Monday morning to urge West Virginia Republicans not to vote for former coal company CEO Don Blankenship in Tuesday's Senate primary.
Trump invoked December's special Senate election in Alabama, where contraversial Republican candidate Roy Moore lost to Democrat Doug Jones.
"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! Remember Alabama. Vote Rep. Jenkins or A.G. Morrisey," Trump tweeted.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/993443781281271808
Instead, Trump recommended West Virginians vote for either of the other two major candidates: Congressman Evan Jenkins or West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.
Blankenship has a history of issues that make Republicans nervous about his chances of winning in a general election.
One issue is his connection to the Upper Big Brand Mine disaster in 2010 that killed 29 miners. Blankenship served a year in prison for conspiring to willfully violate mine safety and health standards.
Blankenship has also made several disparaging comments about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), calling him "Cocaine Mitch," and his family.
"I have an issue when the father-in-law is, you know, is a wealthy Chinaperson and there’s a lot of connections to some of the brass, if you will, in China," Blankenship told a West Virginia radio station.
McConnell is married to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, who immigrated from China to the U.S. as a child. Her father founded an international shipping company, which was the subject of attack from Blankenship because of the founder's Chinese heritage.
"Swamp captain Mitch McConnell has created millions of jobs for China people," Blankenship said in one of his campaign ads."While doing so, Mitch has gotten rich. In fact, his China family has given him tens of millions of dollars."
The winner of the Republican primary will face Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) in November.