Campaign

Gorka backs W.Va. attorney general in GOP Senate bid

by Ben Kamisar - 04/27/18 1:47 PM ET

Former Trump administration official Sebastian Gorka is endorsing West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s Senate bid as Morrisey looks to edge out his rivals in next month’s GOP primary.

In a letter obtained exclusively by The Hill, Gorka depicts Morrisey as a conservative who will be an ally of President Trump.

{mosads}That could help Morrisey in a primary where supporting Trump has become key to candidates’ pitches for why GOP voters should pick them to take on Sen. Joe Manchin (D) in the general election.

“Your record of conservative results and fighting for principle is unambiguous. From standing up to President Obama’s War on Coal, to expanding gun rights, to defending unborn life, your record speaks for itself,” Gorka, who contributes to The Hill’s opinions section, writes in the letter Morrisey.

“The U.S. Senate and President Trump could use someone with your principles and leadership fighting every day for our shared conservative values. You and I both know that Washington is still broken, and the only way to fix it is to send more leaders who will not waver, who will not give in to the swamp. Your record as Attorney General demonstrates that the liberals in Washington don’t stand a chance against you.”

Morrisey is running against Rep. Evan Jenkins (R) and former coal executive Don Blankenship for the right to take on Manchin. Recent polling shows the race is neck-and-neck — a recent Fox News poll found Jenkins ahead of Morrisey by 4 points, and the Morrisey campaign released an internal poll days later that found him ahead of Jenkins by 2 points.

Both polls showed Blankenship, who served a federal prison term over a mine safety charge related to a fatal mine explosion, in a clear third place.

The endorsement will give Morrisey an additional point in his argument that he’d be a more reliable supporter of Trump in office. He’s pointed to Jenkins’s previous identification as a Democrat to cast doubt on his conservative chops.

But Jenkins has furiously pushed back against that characterization, arguing that he’s been working hand-in-glove with Trump in Congress, including on a measure that rolled back a federal environmental rule that Republicans believe will help the coal industry.

The state, which Trump won by 42 points in 2016, is a prime example of where the GOP can make gains in the November midterm elections. But Manchin has a long record of electoral success in the conservative state.

White House officials, most notably Vice President Pence, have been critical of Manchin on the trail in the hopes of softening him up for the eventual nominee.

Gorka hit Manchin in his endorsement letter, saying he “betrayed the values many West Virginians hold dear.”

Tags Donald Trump Evan Jenkins Joe Manchin Sebastian Gorka