CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Republican candidates hoping to oust U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin in the fall took repeated turns attacking the incumbent Democrat’s record while aligning themselves with President Donald Trump during a forum in West Virginia on Monday night.
The 90-minute forum involving all six GOP candidates for Senate lacked fireworks and harsh finger pointing among each other at Wheeling Jesuit University.
Instead, they took turns giving reasons why they’re the best choice to face Manchin in November.
“Joe Manchin’s days are numbered,” U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins said.
They also fielded specific questions, such as Jenkins’ previous alignment with the Democratic Party, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s past lobbying ties to the pharmaceutical industry, and Don Blankenship’s one-year prison term for violating safety standards at the Upper Big Branch mine where 29 men died in a 2010 explosion.
Blankenship said he believes the tragedy will help him in the election in the coalfields.
“Coal miners know what really happened,” he said. “I’m going to focus on preventing it from happening again.”
Others candidates, including truck driver Jack Newbrough of Weirton, laid-off coal miner Bo Copley of Lenore and West Virginia National Guard Maj. Tom Willis, rebutted a question about their perceived lack of experience in the public sector. Willis said the question was flawed and that as a tax attorney, the owner of the Glen Ferris Inn and a Green Beret, he’s the candidate with the “most well-rounded resume.”
The candidates gave their variations on addressing the national debt, the federal government’s role in fighting the nation’s opioid epidemic, and fixing programs such as Social Security and Medicaid.
Every candidate said banning certain types of guns and limiting gun ownership would not be an answer to mass shootings such as the deaths of four people Sunday at a Waffle House restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee. Newbrough said he was carrying a gun at the forum, although he didn’t produce it. He and Copley said mental health issues involving mass shooting suspects especially need to be addressed.
Asked if there were any issues they disagreed with Trump, the candidates hesitated. A few had misgivings about the president’s personal behavior or voracious use of Twitter.
“But if that’s the only failings he has, we have a great six-seven years ahead of us,” Blankenship said.
Jenkins and Morrisey sat on each side of Trump earlier this month when the president visited West Virginia in early April to extol the benefits of his tax plan. And both candidates did their best to show their support Monday.
“I think he’s doing a darn good job,” Jenkins said.
Morrisey said he believes Trump “has West Virginia’s back. This guy has the best interest of our state at heart.”
The forum was hosted by The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register. Executive Editor Mike Myer said after running out of time that he didn’t get to ask if the candidates had something nice to say about Manchin, which drew a laugh from the audience.
The primary election is May 8. Manchin faces Paula Jean Swearengin in the May 8 primary.
It marked the first forum involving all six GOP candidates. Four candidates participated in a debate April 4 in Martinsburg.
WSAZ-TV also plans to host a debate Tuesday among Blankenship, Jenkins and Morrisey, and Fox News Channel is hosting a May 1 debate in Morgantown for Senate candidates who reach a threshold of 10 percent in a Fox News poll being released this week.
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